>.^    /     //    V 


4G967 


TWENTY-FIVE   YEARS 


IN 


THE    SECRET    SERVICE 


€f  e  ^U0litti\QW.6  of  A  ^p^. 


BY 


MAJOR   HENRI    LE   CARON.  vN/ 


Wo  citizen  has  a  right  to  consider  himself  as  belonging  to  hitm^elf ;  hut  all  ought 
to  regard  themselves  as  belongi7ig  to  the  State,  inasmuch  as  each  is  a  part  of  the 
State  ;  and  care  for  the  part  naturally  looks  to  care  for  the  whole.  —  Aristotle. 


BOSTON : 
AMERICAN     CITIZEN     CO. 

7  Brom FIELD  Street. 
BOSTON  COLLEGE  LJb^vV,^ 


Copyright,  1892,  by 
Wm.    Heinemann. 


I>.  Barta  &  Co.,  Pkintebs, 

148  High  Street, 

Boston. 


INTRODUCTION. 

It  has  seemed  good  in  the  sight  of  many  people  that 
I  should  place  on  record,  in  some  permanent  and  accept- 
able form,  the  story  of  my  eventful  life.  And  so  I  am 
about  to  write  a  book.  The  task  is  a  daring  one  —  per- 
haps the  most  daring  of  the  many  strange  and  unlooked-for 
incidents  which  have  marked  my  career  of  adventure. 
I  approach  it  with  no  light  heart,  but  rather  with  a  keen 
appreciation  of  all  its  difficulties. 

To  cater,  and  cater  successfully,  for  the  reading  public 
of  this  fin  de  sihlc  period  is  an  undertaking  which  fairly 
taxes  all  the  powers  of  resource  and  experience  of  the 
most  brilliant  writers  of  our  time.  And  I  am  in  no  sense 
a  practised  writer,  much  less  a  professional  litterateur. 
I  have  spent  my  life  working  at  too  high  a  pressure,  and 
in  too  excited  an  atmosphere,  to  allow  of  my  qualifying  in 
any  way  for  the  role  of  author. 

Nor  am  I  handicapped  in  this  way  alone.  I  am, 
unfortunately  .for  my  purpose,  deprived  of  the  most 
important  of  collaborators  a  writer  ever  called  to  his  aid 
—  the  play  of  imagination.  For  me  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  romance  to  be  indulged  in  here.  The  truth,  the 
whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth  is  what  I  have  set 

iii 


iv  INTRODUCTION. 

myself  to  tell  regarding  all  those  matters  with  which  I 
shall  deal.  There  are  many  things,  of  course,  to  which 
I  may  not  refer ;  but  with  respect  to  those  upon  which  I 
feel  at  liberty  to  touch,  one  unalterable  characteristic  will 
apply  all  through,  and  that  will  be  the  absolute  truthful- 
ness of  the  record. 

This  may  seem  strange  language  coming  from  one  who, 
for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century,  has  played  a  double  part, 
and  who  to-day  is  not  one  whit  ashamed  of  any  single  act 
done  in  that  capacity.  Men's  lives,  however,  are  not  to 
be  judged  by  the  outward  show  and  the  visible  suggestion, 
but  rather  by  the  inward  sentiments  and  promptings  which 
accept  conscience  at  once  as  the  inspirer  of  action  and 
arbiter  of  fate.  It  is  hard,  I  know,  to  expect  people  in 
this  cold  prosaic  age  of  ours  to  fully  understand  how 
a  man  like  myself  should,  of  his  own  free  will,  have 
entered  upon  a  life  such  as  I  have  led,  with  such  pureness 
of  motive  and  absence  of  selfish  instinct  as  to  entitle  me 
to-day  to  claim  acceptance  at  the  bar  of  public  opinion  as 
an  honest  and  a  truthful  man. 

Yet  such  is  my  claim.  When  years  ago,  as  these  sub- 
sequent pages  will  show,  I  was  first  brought  into  contact 
with  Fenian  affairs,  no  fell  purpose,  no  material  considera- 
tion prompted  me  to  work  against  the  revolutionary  plot- 
ters. A  young  man,  proud  of  his  native  land  and  full  of 
patriotic  loyalty  to  its  traditions,  I  had  no  desire,  no 
intention  to  do  aught  but  frustrate  the  schemes  of  my 
country's  foes.     When,  later  on,  I  took  my  place  in  the 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

ranks  of  England's  defenders,  the  same  condition  of  mind 
prevailed,  though  the  conditions  of  service  varied. 

And  so  the  situation  has  remained  all  through.  Forced 
by  a  variety  of  circumstances  to  play  a  part  I  never 
souo-ht,  but  to  which,  for  conscientious  motives,  I  not 
unwillingly  adapted  myself,  I  can  admit  no  shame  and 
plead  no  regret.  By  my  action  lives  have  been  saved, 
communities  have  been  benefited,  and  right  and  justice 
allowed  to  triumph,  to  the  confusion  of  law-breakers  and 
would-be  murderers.  And  in  this  recollection  I  have  my 
consolation  and  my  reward.  Little  else  indeed  is  left  me 
in  the  shape  of  either  the  one  or  the  other.  There  is  a 
popular  fiction,  I  know,  which  associates  with  my  work 
fabulous  payments  and  frequent  rewards.  Would  that  it 
had  been  so.  Then  would  the  play  of  memory  be  all  the 
sweeter  for  me.  But,  alas  !  the  facts  were  all  the  other 
way.  As  I  will  show  later,  in  the  Secret  Service  of  Eng- 
land there  is  ever  present  danger,  and  constantly  recurring 
difficulty,  but  of  recompense,  a  particularly  scant  supply. 


TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS    IN   THE 
SECRET    SERVICE. 


Of  my  early  youth  little  that  is  very  interesting  or 
exciting  can  be  told.  A  faded  entry  in  the  aged  records 
of  the  ancient  borough  of  Colchester  evidences  the  fact 
that  a  certain  Thomas  Beach,  to  wit  myself,  came  into 
this  world  some  fifty  and  one  years  ago,  on  the  26th 
day  of  September  1841.  My  parents  were  English,  as 
the  American  would  phrase  it,  ''from  far  away  back,"  my 
grandfather  tracing  his  lineage  through  many  generations 
in  the  county  of  Berkshire.  The  second  son  of  a  family 
of  thirteen,  I  fear  I  proved  a  sore  trial  to  a  careful  father 
and  affectionate  mother,  by  my  erratic  methods  and  the 
varied  outbursts  of  my  wild  exuberant  nature.  My  earliest 
recollection  is  of  the  teetotal  principle  on  which  we  were 
all  brought  up,  and  the  absence  of  strong  drink  from  all 
our  household  feasts.  The  point  is  a  trivial  one,  but  not 
unworthy  of  note,  as  it  supplies  the  key  to  some  of  my 
successes  in  later  life,  in  keeping  clear  of  danger  through 
intoxication,  when  almost  all  of  those  with  whom  I  dealt 
were  victims  to  it.  When  others  lost  their  heads,  and 
their  caution  as  well,  I  was  enabled,  through  my  distaste 
for  drink,  to  benefit  in  every  way. 

Living  in  a  military  town  as  I  did,  and  coming  into 
daily  contact  with  all  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  sol- 


2  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

diering,  it  was  but  natural  that  the  glory  of  the  redcoat 
life  should  affect  me,  and  that,  like  so  many  other  foolish 
boys,  I  should  feel  drawn  to  the  ranks.  Of  course  I  wanted 
to  enlist,  and  what  wonder  that  for  me  life  held  no  nobler 
ambition  and  success,  no  grander  figure  than  that  clothed 
with  the  uniform  of  the  bold  drummer-boy.  All  my 
efforts,  however,  were  naturally  of  no  avail,  and  I  found 
the  path  to  glory  blocked  at  every  point.  The  fever, 
nevertheless,  was  upon  me,  and  my  want  of  success  only 
made  me  the  more  determined  to  achieve  my  object  in  the 
long  run.  Home  held  no  promise  of  success,  and  at  home 
I  decided  I  would  no  longer  remain.  So  it  came  about 
that  one  fine  morning,  when  little  more  than  twelve  years 
of  age,  I  packed  my  marbles,  toys,  and  trophies,  and  in 
the  early  light  slipped  quietly  out  on  to  the  high-road  en 
route  for  that  Mecca  of  all  country  boys  —  the  great  glori- 
ous city  of  London  ! 

I  had  run  away  from  home  in  grim  earnest.  Not  for 
very  long,  however.  Fortunately  for  me  —  unfortunately 
as  I  thought  in  these  young  days  —  I  committed  a  grave 
blunder  in  tactics.  Meeting  one  of  my  school-fellows  on 
the  journey,  I  was  foolish  enough  to  inform  him  of  my 
proceeding  and  intention,  and  in  this  way  my  anxious 
parents  were  soon  put  upon  my  track,  and  my  interesting 
and  exciting  escapade  was  brought  to  an  ignominious  con- 
clusion. I  had,  however,  tasted  of  the  sweets  of  adven- 
ture, and  it  was  not  very  long  before  I  made  another 
attempt  to  rid  myself  of  the  trammels  of  home  life.  Here 
again  I  was  fated  to  meet  with  defeat,  but  not  before  I 
had  made  a  distinct  advance  upon  my  first  effort,  for  two 
weeks  were  allowed  to  elapse  before  I  was  discovered  on 
this  occasion.  The  natural  consequences  attended  these 
attempts  of  mine,  and  soon  I  was  written  down  as  the 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  3 

black  sheep  of  the  family,  from  whom  no  permanent  good 
could  ever  be  expected. 

The  idea  of  keeping  me  longer  at  school  was  quite 
given  up,  and  in  order  the  better  to  tie  me  down,  I  was 
apprenticed  for  a  period  of  seven  years  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Knight,  a  Quaker,  and  well-known  draper  in  my  native 
town.  The  arrangement  suited  me  not  at  all.  Nothing 
could  be  more  uncongenial  than  a  life  worked  out  in  the 
solemn  atmosphere  of  a  staid  and  strict  Quaker's  home, 
where  the  efforts  to  curb  my  impulsive  nature  resulted  in 
increasing  bitterness  of  spirit  on  my  part  every  day.  In 
eleven  m.onths  it  was  conceded  on  both  sides  that  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  arrangement  was  distinctly  undesirable, 
and  so  I  was  free  once  more.  A  short  residence  with  my 
parents  followed  ;  but  the  old  promptings  to  wander  afar 
were  too  strong  for  me,  and  once  more,  for  the  third  and 
last  time,  I  broke  away,  and  reached  London  at  last,  in  the 
month  of  May  1857. 

Through  the  kindness  of  relatives,  employment  was 
secured  for  me  in  a  leading  business  house  ;  but  my  stay 
there  was  of  short  duration.  With  my  usual  facility  for 
doing  everything  wrong  at  this  period  of  my  existence,  I 
happened  to  accidentally  set  fire  to  the  premises,  and  was 
politely  told  that  after  this  my  services  could  not  be  prop- 
erly appreciated.  I  was  not  long  out  of  employment,  and 
strangely  enough,  through  the  agency  of  one  of  the  gen- 
tlemen whose  house  had  suffered  through  my  careless- 
ness, I  was  later  on  enabled  to  obtain  a  much  better 
situation  than  I  had  held  in  their  house. 

From  London  I  subsequently  made  my  way  to  Bath, 
and  from  Bath  to  Bristol,  always  in  search  of  change, 
though  everywhere  doing  well.  When  in  Bristol,  how- 
ever, I  was  struck  down  with  fever,  and  reduced  to  a  pen- 


4  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

niless  condition.  Then  came  the  idea  of  returning  to 
London,  which  I  duly  carried  out,  walking  all  the  way. 
My  foolhardiness  proved  almost  fatal,  for  ere  I  got  to  the 
metropolis,  my  illness  came  back  upon  me,  and  I  was 
scarce  able  to  crawl  to  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital  in 
search  of  relief. 

My  stay  at  St.  Bartholomew's  was  not  a  very  long  one. 
Horrified  at  the  terrible  death  of  a  patient  lying  next  to 
me,  and  fearful  that,  if  I  remained,  something  equally 
horrible  might  be  my  fate,  I  managed  to  obtain  posses- 
sion of  my  clothes  and  to  leave  the  institution.  Thoughts 
of  home  and  mother  decided  my  return  to  Colchester,  and 
thither  I  immediately  proceeded  to  make  my  way  on  foot. 
Again  the  fever  attacked  me,  and  once  more  I  had  to 
seek  the  friendly  shelter  of  an  hospital,  this  time  taking 
refuge  in  the  Colchester  and  East  Essex  Institution.  Here 
I  remained  till  I  was  permanently  recovered,  after  which 
I  entered  the  service  of  Mr.  William  Baber  of  the  town. 
However,  my  efforts  to  lead  a  sober  conventional  life  were 
all  in  vain.  The  wild  longing  for  change  came  back  in 
renewed  strength,  and  in  a  little  while  I  had  left  London 
altogether  behind  and  journeyed  to  Paris  via  Havre. 


IL 


I  AM  amused  as  I  look  back  now  upon  the  utter  reck- 
lessness and  daring  of  this  proceeding  of  mine.  I  knew 
not  a  soul  in  France ;  of  the  language,  not  a  word  was 
familiar ;  and  yet  somehow  the  longing  to  get  away  from 
England  and  to  try  my  luck  on  a  new  soil  was  irresistible. 
One  place  was  as  good  as  another  to  me,  and  Paris  seemed 
rather  more  familiar  than  the  other  few  centres  of  ac- 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  5 

tivity  with  the  names  of  which  I  was  then  acquainted. 
And  so  to  Paris  I  went.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  hit 
upon  an  hotel  kept  by  an  Englishwoman  in  the  Faubourg 
St.  Honore,  and  here  I  tarried  for  a  time  while  my  little 
stock  of  money  lasted.  This  was  not  by  any  means  a 
long  period,  and  soon  I  found  myself  reduced  once  more  to 
a  condition  of  penurv,  having  in  the  interval  gained  little 
but  an  acquaintance  with  the  principal  thoroughfares  and 
their  shops,  and  a  slight  knowledge  of  the  language,  to 
which  latter  I  was  helped  in  no  inconsiderable  degree  by 
a  wonderfully  retentive  memory. 

Things  were  at  a  very  low  ebb  for  me  indeed,  when 
help  came  from  an  entirely  unexpected  quarter.  Happen- 
ing one  Sunday  to  pass  by  the  English  Church  in  the  Rue 
d'Aguesseau,  of  which,  by  the  way,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Forbes 
was  at  that  time  chaplain,  I  was  attracted  by  the  music  of 
the  service  then  proceeding,  and  entered  the  little  unpre- 
tentious place  of  worship.  Here  I  joined  heartily  in  the 
service,  with  the  order  and  details  of  which  I  was  per- 
fectly familiar,  having  already  sung  in  the  choir  of  my 
native  town.  My  singing  and  generally  strange  appear- 
ance attracted  the  attention  of  a  member  of  the  church, 
with  whom  I  formed  an  acquaintance.  We  left  the  church 
together  —  not  however  before  I  had  promised  my  assist- 
ance in  the  choir  —  and  at  his  request  I  breakfasted  with 
my  English  friend  at  one  of  the  creinei^ies  in  the  Faubourg. 
Now,  as  then,  a  respected  citizen  of  Paris,  I  am  happy  to 
number  this  countryman  among  the  truest  and  most  stead- 
fast of  my  friends. 

We  passed  the  day  together,  attending  the  remaining 
two  services  at  the  church,  and  in  the  hours  we  spent  in 
each  other's  company  I  told  him  my  history  and  my  needs. 
Warm-hearted  and  impulsive,  he  immediately  suggested 


6  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

that  I  should  vacate  my  room  and  share  his  lodging,  even 
going  the  length  of  advancing  me  money  to  enable  me  to 
do  so.  Before  a  week  had  passed,  he  had  capped  his  good- 
ness by  securing  a  situation  for  me  ;  and  I  found  myself 
at  length  comfortably  installed  in  the  house  of  Withers, 
a  la  Siiissere,  52  Faubourg  St.  Honore.  Through  his  in- 
fluence also  I  became  a  paid  member  of  the  church  choir, 
and  in  a  very  short  time  I  was  the  recipient  of  the  friend- 
ship and  confidence  of  Dr.  Forbes  and  his  wife,  from  both 
of  whom  I  received  very  many  kindnesses.  Thanks  to 
them,  I  was  very  soon  enabled  to  better  my  position,  and 
to  change  to  the  house  of  Arthur  &  Co.,  where  matters 
improved  for  me  in  every  way.  There  then  succeeded 
some  of  the  happiest  days  of  my  life.  Freed  from  care 
and  anxiety,  with  all  the  necessaries  of  life  at  my  control, 
and  a  fund  of  boyish  spirits  and  perfect  health,  I  was 
without  a  trouble  or  a  dark  hour,  happy  and  contented  in 
my  daily  task. 

So  the  weeks  and  months  came  and  went  without  dis- 
covering any  change  in  my  position,  till  an  unlooked-for 
incident  once  more  brought  the  wild  mad  thirst  for  change 
and  excitement  back  to  me,  and  sounded  the  death-knell 
of  my  quiet  life.  On  the  9th  April  1861,  the  shot  was 
fired  at  Fort  Sumter  which  inaugurated  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion  of  the  United  States.  That  shot  echoed  all 
over  the  world,  but  in  no  place  was  the  effect  more  keenly 
marked  than  in  the  American  colony  in  Paris,  which  even 
in  these  early  days  was  a  very  numerous  one. 

Arthur's,  the  place  of  business  of  which  I  speak,  was 
one  of  the  most  favored  of  the  American  resorts,  and 
here  the  excitement  raged  at  fever  heat,  as  little  by  little 
the  news  came  over  the  sea.  These  were  not  the  days  of 
the  cable,  flashino:  the  news  of  success  or  defeat  simultane- 


IN  THE   SECRET  SERVICE,  J 

ously  with  its  occurrence,  and  picturing  in  vivid  phrase 
and  description  every  incident  and  climax  of  warfare,  till 
almost  the  figures  move  before  us,  and  our  eyes  and  ears 
are  deadened  by  the  smoke  and  sound  of  shot.  The  tid- 
ings came  in  snatches,  and  the  absence  of  completeness 
and  detail  only  served  to  give  the  greater  impetus  to  dis- 
cussion and  imagination. 

There  was  no  more  excited  student  of  the  situation 
than  myself ;  and  very  soon,  of  course,  I  was  fired  with 
the  idea  of  playing  a  part  in  the  scenes  which  I  was  fol- 
lowing with  such  enthusiasm  and  zest.  Friends  and 
associates,  many  of  them  American,  were  leaving  on 
every  hand  for  the  seat  of  war  ;  and  at  last,  throwing 
care  and  discretion  to  the  winds,  I  took  the  plunge  and 
embarked  on  the  Great  Eastern  on  her  first  voyage  to  New 
York. 

I  reached  that  city  in  good  time,  and  without  delay  en- 
listed in  the  Northern  Army,  in  company  with  several  of 
my  American  associates  from  Paris.  In  connection  with 
my  enlistment  there  occurred  a  circumstance,  trivial  in 
itself  at  the  moment,  yet  fraught  with  the  most  important 
consequences  in  regard  to  my  after-life.  This  was  the 
taking  to  myself  of  a  new  name  and  a  new  nationality. 
I  had  no  thought  of  remaining  in  America  for  any  length 
of  time — at  the  outset,  indeed,  I  only  enlisted  for  three 
months,  the  period  for  which  recruits  were  sought  —  and, 
regarding  the  whole  proceeding  more  in  the  light  of  a 
good  joke  than  anything  else,  I  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  I  should  not  cause  anxiety  to  my  parents  by  disclos- 
ing my  position,  and  decided  to  sustain  the  joke  by  play- 
ing the  part  of  a  Frenchman  and  calling  myself  Henri  le 
Caron.  So  came  into  existence  that  name  and  character 
which,  in  after  years,  proved  to   be   such   a   marvellous 


8  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

source  of  protection  and  success  to  me  personally,  and  of 
such  continued  service  to  my  native  country  whose  citi- 
zenship I  had,  by  my  proceeding,  to  resign. 

As  subsequent  events  proved,  however,  I  was  not  to 
carry  out  my  original  idea  of  returning.  The  three 
months  came  and  went,  and  many  more  followed  in  their 
wake,  till  five  years  had  passed  and  left  me  still  in  the 
United  States  service.  The  life  suited  me.  I  made 
many  friends  ;  soldiering  was  a  pleasant  experience  ;  and 
I  was  particularly  fortunate  in  escaping  its  many  mishaps. 
I  had  no  care  for  the  morrow,  and,  happily  for  me,  I 
found  my  morrows  to  bring  little  if  any  care  to  me.  Only 
on  one  occasion  was  I  seriously  wounded.  This  was  when, 
during  an  engagement  near  Woodbury,  Tennessee,  I  had 
my  horse  killed  under  me  by  a  shell,  my  companion  killed 
at  my  side,  and  myself  wounded  by  a  splinter  from  the 
explosive,  which  laid  me  up  for  about  a  month. 

Interesting  and  animated  as  was  my  career  as  a  soldier, 
I  must  not  delay  to  deal  with  it  too  fully  in  detail,  but 
must  hurry  on  to  that  subsequent  life  of  mine  in  America, 
which  possesses  the  greatest  interest  for  the  public  at 
large.  I  shall,  however,  before  leaving  it,  run  over  very 
shortly  the  different  stages  of  my  soldiering  experience. 
The  facts  may  be  interesting  to  the  many  people  in  this 
country  and  America  who  are  familiar  with  the  history  of 
the  American  war  of  the  Rebellion.  I  enlisted  as  a 
private  soldier  on  August  7,  1861,  in  the  8th  Penn- 
sylvanian  Reserves,  changing  therefrom  to  the  Anderson 
Cavalry,  commanded  by  Colonel  William  J.  Palmer.  Here 
I  remained  for  a  year  and  ten  months,  serving  through 
the  Peninsula  campaign  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  in- 
cluding the  battles  of  Four  Oaks,  South  Mountain,  Antie- 
tam,  and  Williamsport,  all  of  which  were  fought  under 
the  command  of  General  Georo-e  B.  McClellan. 


IN   THE   SECRET  SERVICE.  9 

In  October  1862,  I  joined,  with  my  regiment,  the 
Western  Army,  under  the  command  of  General  William  S. 
Rosecrans,  and  participated  in  the  advance  from  Louis- 
ville, Nashville,  and  Murfreesboro',  including  the  engage- 
ments at  Tullahoma  and  Winchester,  and  ending  with  the 
capture  of  Chattanooga  and  Chicamauga  in  September  of 
the  same  year.  The  failure  of  Rosecrans  at  Chicamauga 
ended  his  career.  He  was  succeeded  by  General  George 
H.  Thomas,  under  whom  I  served  the  remainder  of  my 
career  in  the  army.  By  this  time  I  had  obtained  a  war- 
rant as  a  non-commissioned  officer,  and  was  principally 
engaged  in  scouting  duty.  On  the  command  in  which  I 
served,  being  ordered  to  the  relief  of  General  Burnside 
at  Knoxville,  I  left  Chattanooga,  then  in  a  state  of  siege 
and  semi-famine,  and  reaching  Knoxville,  I  was  engaged 
during  the  whole  of  the  winter  of  1863  in  the  East  Ten- 
nessee campaign  against  the  rebel  General  Longstreet, 
my  engagements  including  Strawberry  Plain,  Mossy 
Creek,  and  Dandridge.  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  be 
recommended  for  a  commission  in  1864,  and,  after  my 
examination  before  a  military  board,  was  gazetted  Second 
Lieutenant  in  the  United  States  Army  in  the  month  of 
July  of  that  year.  For  the  next  twelve  months  I  was 
exclusively  employed  in  scouting  duty,  in  charge  of  a 
mounted  company,  serving  in  this  capacity  under  General 
Lovell  H.  Rousseau  in  West  Tennessee.  In  December 
1864,  being  attached  to  General  Stedman's  division  of 
the  army  of  the  Cumberland,  I  was  present  at  the  battle 
of  Nashville,  and  took  part  in  all  the  engagements 
through  Tennessee  and  Alabama,  being  promoted  in  the 
course  of  them  to  the  rank  of  First  Lieutenant. 

During  1865  I  was  appointed  upon  detached  service  of 
various  descriptions,  filling  amongst  other  positions  those 


lO  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

of  Acting  Assistant-Adjutant-General  and  Regimental 
Adjutant.  At  the  close  of  the  war  I  joined  the  veteran 
organizations  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  held  the  appointment 
therein  of  Vice-Commander  and  Post-Surgeon,  ranking  as 
Major. 

Long  ere  this  I  had,  of  course,  given  up  all  idea  of 
returning  to  France,  and  had  communicated  my  where- 
abouts and  position  to  my  parents,  much  to  their  anxiety 
and  dismay. 

Tragedy  and  comedy  blended  together  in  strange  fel- 
lowship in  our  experiences  of  these  days  ;  and,  as  I  write, 
a  couple  of  amusing  examples  of  this  occur  to  me.  It  was 
in  1865,  when  engaged  in  scouting  duty  in  connection  with 
the  guerilla  warfare  carried  on  by  irregular  bands  of  South- 
erners, that  I  received  the  following  order  :  — 

"Headquarters,  Third  Sub-District,  Middle  Tennessee, 
"Acting  Assistant-Adjutant-General's  Office, 
"Kingston  Springs,  Tenn.,  May  17,  1865. 
"Sir, — The  follo^ying  despatch  has  been  received:  — 

"Nashville,  May  16,  1865. 
"  Brig. -Gen.  Thompson. 

"  In  accordance  with  orders  heretofore  published  of  the  Major-Gen.  Com- 
manding  Dept.    of   Cumberland,   Champ  Fergusson  and   his   gang   of    cut- 
throats  having  refused  to  surrender,   are    denounced   as   outlaws,    and   the 
military  forces  of  this  district  will  deal  with  and  treat  him  accordingly. 
"  By  Command  of  Major-Gen.  Rousseau, 

"  (Signed)  H.  C.  Whitlemore, 
"Capt.  and  A.A.A.G." 

This,  of  course,  meant  sudden  death  to  any  of  the  band 
who  might  come  within  range  of  our  rifles.  The  men, 
indeed,  were  nothing  less  than  murderers  and  robbers, 
carrying  on  their  devilish  work  under  the  plea  of  fighting 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  II 

for  Southern  independence.  It  was  not  long  before  an 
opportunity  was  afforded  me  of  coming  in  contact  with  a 
specimen  of  the  class,  and  it  is  on  this  meeting  that  one 
of  my  anecdotes  will  turn. 

A  few  days  after,  when  riding  ahead  of  my  troop,  in 
company  with  a  couple  of  my  men,  in  order  to  "prospect  " 
the  country,  with  a  view  to  finding  suitable  accommoda- 
tion for  our  wants,  I  came  to  a  well-built  farmhouse  a  few 
miles  from  the  Duck  River.  As  we  approached  the  front, 
my  attention  was  attracted  by  an  armed  man,  in  the  well- 
known  butternut  gray  uniform  of  the  enemy,  escaping  from 
the  back  in  a  very  hasty  and  suspicious  manner.  Reading 
his  true  character  in  a  moment,  I  shouted  to  him  to  halt, 
at  the  same  time  directing  my  troopers  to  ''head  him  off  " 
right  and  left.  Disregarding  our  cries,  he  started  off  in 
hot  haste,  v/hile  we  pursued  him  in  equally  hurried  fashion. 
The  chase  was  a  hard  and  a  stern  one,  his  flight  being 
only  broken  for  a  moment  to  allow  of  his  discharging  his 
carbine  at  me.  Not  desiring  to  kill  him,  I  saved  my  pow- 
der, and  in  the  end  ran  him  to  earth,  and  stunned  him  with 
a  blow  from  the  butt-end  of  my  revolver. 

When  my  companions  arrived,  we  proceeded  to  exam- 
ine our  prisoner,  and  found,  on  stripping  him  of  his  gray 
covering,  that  underneath  he  wore  the  unmistakable  blue 
coat  of  our  own  regiment,  with  the  plain  indication  of  a 
corporal's  stripes  having  been  torn  therefrom.  As  we 
had  a  few  days  previously  discovered  the  stripped,  bullet- 
riddled  body  of  a  brave  corporal  of  ours,  who  had  been 
murdered  by  some  of  these  scoundrels,  we  at  once  con- 
cluded that  this  was  one  of  his  assassins,  and  my  troop, 
coming  up  at  this  point,  dealt  him  scant  mercy,  and  filled 
his  body  with  their  bullets  ere  consciousness  returned. 
A  search  of  his  pockets  revealed  his  identity,  his  pocket- 


12  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

book  containing  some  two  hundred  dollars  in  bills,  and  an 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  Government, 
which  he  had  doubtless  used  many  times  to  save  his 
wretched  life. 

Making  our  way  back  to  the  house,  we  discovered  two 
weeping  women,  and  half-a-dozen  small  children.  A  single 
question  elicited  the  fact  that  the  elder  of  the  two  was 
the  mother,  while  subsequent  inquiries  proved  that  the 
dead  man  was  the  notorious  William  M.  Guin,  a  nephew 
of  ex-United  States  Senator  Guin,  of  California,  and  one 
of  the  leaders  of  as  notorious  a  gang  of  cut-throats  as  ever 
operated  in  the  South-West.  Our  custom  was  to  burn  the 
houses  of  any  persons  found  harboring  these  guerillas,  but 
the  heartrending  entreaties  of  the  wretched  women  and 
children  caused  me  to  leave  them  unmolested.  Some 
time  afterwards,  when  peace  was  finally  declared,  I  was 
quartered  at  Waverley,  in  the  same  vicinity,  and  often  met 
the  unfortunate  mother,  v/ho  knew  me  as  "the  man  who 
killed  her  boy,"  though,  as  she  told  me,  she  never  blamed 
me,  havins:  often  warned  her  son  that  he  would  come  to  a 
bad  end. 

And  now  for  the  other  side  of  the  picture.  During 
these  operations,  my  men  were  principally  mounted  on 
horses  captured  from  the  citizens,  who  were  invariably 
rebels  ;  and  as  our  habit  was  to  take  every  available  ani- 
mal when  found,  the  methods  adopted  to  hide  them  in 
caves,  ravines,  and  swamps  were  sometimes  very  remarka- 
ble. Upon  one  of  my  expeditions  at  the  time,  in  the 
direction  of  Vernon,  on  the  Duck  River,  I  came  across  a 
fine  black  horse,  which  I  speedily  confiscated  to  the  use 
of  "  Uncle  Sam."  My  prize,  however,  did  not  long  remain 
in  my  possession,  for  in  a  few  days  my  quarters  were 
invaded  by  a  deputation  of  the  fair  sex,  who  presented  me 
with  the  following  amusing  appeal :  — ■ 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


"We  write  in  good  spirits  to  you, 
For  our  glad  expectations  we  hope  to  find  true, 
That  you'll  act  as  a  gentleman  always  should  do, 
And  with  a  request  from  the  ladies  comply 
Which  a  fame  would  attain  you  that  never  should  die; 
While  we'll  think  of  you  ever  with  kindness  sincere, 
And  say  of  you  what  it  would  please  you  to  hear, 
And  wish  for  you  always  a  life  long  and  free 
From  grief  and  visitation  that  sometimes  will  be. 


"  Now,  what  must  you  do  these  good  wishes  to  gain, 
And  make  us  rejoice  that  we  asked  not  in  vain? 
Well,  a  something  'twill  be  a  great  boon  to  obtain 
To  us  who  now  ask  — and  a  kindness  most  true 
And  most  earnestly  wished  for  —  but  to  you 
It  will  be  what  they  tell  us  a  victory  is  — 
Quite  easy  to  'Grant,'  and  we  hope  you'll  grant  this. 

III. 

"We  once  (not  long  since)  had  a  favorite  here. 
Obedient  and  gentle,  deservedly  dear; 
He  was  patient,  obeying  our  will  without  force, 
And  he  seemed  like  a  friend,  though  he  was  but  a  horse. 
How  much  we  esteemed  him  we  never  can  say. 
And  Dixie  we  named  him.     You  took  him  away  ! 
And  sadly  and  truly  we've  missed  him  since  then  — 
Oh,  captain,  do  give  us  poor  Dixie  again. 
If  you  have  conquered  oiie  Dixie,  be  generous  here; 
Return  us  the  other  we  all  count  so  dear. 
And  we'll  say  Captain  Le  Caron  (and  hold  it  so  too) 
Is  the  very  best  soldier  that  ever  wore  blue. 
Your  country  is  famed  both  in  prose  and  in  song; 
To  its  sons  truth  and  justice  are  said  to  belong  — 
Good  principle,  honor,  with  bravery  too; 
Prove  now  to  us,  captain,  that  this  is  quite  true. 
Let  us  have  our  old  friend  —  you  have  better  by  scores, 
But  to  us  none  so  dear  can  e'er  stand  at  our  doors; 


13 


14  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

None  other  can  seem  half  so  good  or  so  wise, 

So  worthy  our  care  as  he  was  in  our  eyes. 

You  Diiisi  be  enlightened,  be  generous  too; 

Give  us  back  our  poor  Dixie, 

Do,  captain,  please  do. 

Just  say  we  may  have  him,  that  welcome  word  say, 

And  your  petitioners  will  evermore  pray. 

"  Mary  Barr. 


"Vernon,  Tennessee,  July  1865. 
"  To  Captain  Le  Caron." 


"Cynthia  Barr. 
"  Polly  H  ass  ell, 
"  Mary  L.  G,,  a  sympathizer. 


I  naturally  pursued  the  only  course  which  a  soldier 
could,  and  surrendered  the  horse.  Strange  to  say,  one  of 
my  lieutenants  afterwards  surrendered  his  affections  and 
future  happiness  to  one  of  these  fair  damsels,  and  still  lives 
with  her  as  his  wife,  surrounded  by  a  charming  family,  away 
out  in  central  Kansas. 

III. 

In  the  midst  of  all  my  soldiering,  I  wooed  and  won 
my  wife.  She  is  the  principal  legacy  left  me  of  those 
old  campaigning  days  of  mine,  as  bonny  a  wife  and  as 
sympathetic  and  valuable  a  helpmate  as  ever  husband 
was  blessed  with  in  this  world.  Many  years  have  gone 
by  since  we  first  met  away  in  Tennessee,  where  she,  a 
bright-eyed  daring  horsewoman,  and  I,  a  happy-go-lucky 
cavalry  officer,  scampered  the  plains  together  in  pleas- 
ant company.  Little  thought  either  of  us  then  what 
the  future  years  held  in  store.  Yet  when  these  years 
came,  and  with  them  the  anxious  moments,  the  uncer- 
tain intervals,  and  the  perilous  hours,  none  was  more 
brave,  more  sympathetic  than  she.     Carrying  the  secret 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  tj 

of  my  life  close  locked  up  in  that  courageous  heart  of  hers, 
helping  me  when  need  be,  silent  when  nought  could  be 
done,  she  proved  as  faithful  an  ally  and  as  perfect  a  foil 
as  ever  man  placed  like  me  could  have  been  given  by 
Heaven.  A  look,  a  gasp,  a  frightened  movement,  an  un- 
certain turn  might  have  betrayed  me,  and  all  would  have 
been  lost;  a  jealous  action,  a  curious  impulse,  and  she 
might  have  wrecked  my  life  ;  a  letter  misplaced,  a  drawer 
left  open,  a  communication  miscarried,  and  my  end  was 
certain.  But  those  things  were  not  to  be.  Brave,  affec- 
tionate, and  fearless,  frequently  beseeching  me  to  end  this 
terrible  career  in  which  each  moment  of  the  coming  hours 
was  charged  with  danger  if  not  death,  she  tended  her  fam- 
ily lovingly,  and  faced  the  world  with  a  countenance  which 
gave  no  sign,  but  a  caution  v/hich  never  slumbered. 

I  had  not  to  wait  for  these  later  years,  however,  to 
prove  her  readiness  and  resource.  These  had  been  shown 
me  long  ere  marriage  was  dreamt  of  by  either  of  us,  and 
when,  in  one  of  the  most  exciting  episodes  of  my  military 
career,  she  gave  me  my  freedom  and  my  life.  For  our 
wooing  was  not  without  its  romance.  Our  first  meeting 
was  quite  a  casual  one.  An  officer  in  charge  of  a  party 
of  thirty,  engaged  in  scouting  duty,  I  stopped  my  little 
troop  one  night,  in  the  winter  of  1862,  at  a  house  some 
fifteen  miles  from  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in  order  to  rest 
our  horses  and  prepare  our  supper.  We  selected  the 
house,  and  stopped  there  without  any  pre-arrangement. 
This,  however,  was  in  no  way  extraordinary.  It  was  quite 
the  common  practice  to  stop  en  route  and  buy  hospitality 
from  the  residents.  The  house  was  the  property  of  my 
wife's  uncle,  and  here  she  lived.  While  our  supper  was 
being  prepared,  we  chatted  agreeably  together,  and  the 
time  swept  pleasantly  along.     We  were  in  fancied  secur- 


1 6  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

ity,  and  gave  no  thought  to  immediate  danger.  In  a 
moment,  however,  all  was  confusion.  The  house  was 
suddenly  surrounded  by  a  band  of  irregular  troops,  calling 
themselves  Confederates,  but  in  reality  nothing  more  or 
less  than  marauders,  and  soon  the  fortunes  of  war  were 
turned  against  us. 

Half  my  little  command,  fortunately,  escaped,  owing  to 
their  being  with  the  horses  at  the  time  of  the  enemy's 
approach,  and  so  enabled  to  take  to  flight.  The  other 
half,  however,  with  myself,  were  not  so  fortunate.  We 
were  in  the  house,  surprised,  and  immediately  taken  pris- 
oners. A  large  log  smoke-house  was  improvised  for  a 
prison,  and  in  this  my  comrades  and  myself  were  placed, 
tortured  with  indignation  and  hunger,  as  the  riotous 
sounds  which  followed  proclaimed  to  us  that  our  captors 
were  partaking  of  the  supper  which  had  been  originally 
intended  for  ourselves.  Our  position  altogether  was  any- 
thing but  a  happy  one.  Death  was  very  near.  Irregular 
troops  like  those  with  whom  we  had  to  deal  seldom  gave 
quarter.  If  we  escaped  immediate  death,  it  would  be 
only  to  be  brought  within  the  Southern  line  to  be  con- 
demned to  a  living  death  in  prison. 

We  sat  and  pondered ;  and  as  the  probabilities  of  the 
future  loomed  heavily  and  darkly  before  us,  the  sounds  of 
revelry  in  the  adjoining  house  gradually  died  away.  Our 
captors,  filled  with  the  good  things  provided  for  us,  grad- 
ually dropped  to  sleep,  and  soon  nothing  was  heard  but 
the  measured  movement  and  breathing  of  the  guard 
stationed  at  our  door.  In  a  little  time,  however,  there 
was  perfect  silence,  and  our  watchful  ears  detected  the 
absence  of  our  sentry's  person.  Curious  but  silent  we 
anxiously  waited,  and  soon  heard  the  withdrawal  of  the 
bolt    by  some    unknown    hand.      Opening   the    door,  we 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


17 


found  the  pathway  clear.  My  brave  Tennessee  girl,  find- 
ing the  gang  of  irregidars  all  steeped  in  heavy  slumber, 
had  decoyed  our  guard  away  on  pretence  of  his  obtaining 
supper,  and  returning,  had  unbolted  our  prison-house,  pre- 
pared to  face  the  consequences  when  the  sleeping  ruffians 
awoke.  Through  her  action  our  safety  was  assured,  and 
after  v/alking  fifteen  miles,  we  reached  camp  in  the  morn- 
ing to  join  our  comrades,  who  had  given  us  up  for  lost. 

This  happened  on  Christmas  Eve  1862  ;  and  it  was  not 
until  April  1864  —  sixteen  months  afterwards  —  that  I 
again  met  the  girl  who  had  done  so  much  for  me,  and  who 
was  subsequently  to  become  my  wife. 

The  house  in  which  these  exciting  events  had  taken 
place  had  meantime  been  totally  destroyed  by  the  ravages 
of  war,  and  she  was  now  living  with  her  aunt  in  Nashville 
itself.  I  was  stationed  in  camp,  there  awaiting  my  exam- 
ination before  a  board  of  officers  for  further  promotion, 
and  here  occurred  the  most  eventful  engagement  in  which 
I  ever  took  part,  where,  conquering  yet  conquered,  I 
ignored  all  the  articles  of  war  and  subscribed  to  those  of 
marriage,  entering  into  a  treaty  of  peace  freighted  with 
the  happiest  of  results. 


IV. 


The  war  was  now  over  and  done,  a  thing  of  the  past. 
I  was  situated  in  Nashville  with  my  wife  and  family,  and 
with  my  savings,  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  moment, 
and  the  pleasant  reminiscences  of  the  past.  Henri  le 
Caron,  the  agent  of  the  British  Government  in  the  camps 
of  American  Fenianism,  did  not  exist,  and  I  had  not  the 
shadow  of  a  conception  as  to  what  the  future  held  in  store 


1 8  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

for  me.  The  future  indeed  troubled  me^  not  one  whit. 
Looking  back,  as  I  do  now,  upon  all  that  has  happened 
since  then,  I  am  filled  with  astonishment  as  great  and 
sincere  as  that  which  affected  the  world  when  I  first  told 
my  story  in  its  disjointed  way  before  the  Special  Com- 
mission. It  may  be  that  I  am  somewhat  of  a  fatalist  —  I 
know  not  what  I  may  be  called  —  but  my  ideas,  strength- 
ened by  the  experience  of  my  life,  are  very  clear  on  one 
point.  We  may  be  free  agents  to  a  certain  extent ;  but, 
nevertheless,  for  some  wise  purpose  matters  are  arranged 
for  us.  We  are  impelled  by  some  unknown  force  to  carry 
out,  not  of  our  own  volition  or  possible  design,  the  work 
of  this  life,  indicated  by  a  combination  of  circumstances, 
to  which  unconsciously  we  adapt  ourselves.  In  such  a 
manner  did  I  become  connected  with  Fenianism  and  the 
Irish  Party  in  America.  For  I  never  sought  Fenianism  ; 
Fenianism  rather  came  to  me. 

I  use  the  phrase  Fenianism  as  one  that  is  familiar,  and 
requires  no  explanation  from  me.  All  the  world  must 
surely  know  by  this  that  almost  from  time  out  of  mind 
there  has  existed  in  Am.erica  a  body  of  discontented  and 
rebellious  Irish  known  as  Fenians,  who,  working  in  har- 
mony with  so-called  Nationalists  in  this  country,  seek  the 
repeal  of  the  Union  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 
It  will,  however,  be  necessary  for  me  to  say  something 
about  the  position  of  Fenianism  at  this  time  —  I  speak, 
of  course,  of  the  year  1865  —  in  order  that  what  follows 
may  be  quite  clearly  understood. 

Fenianism  at  this  period  was  in  a  rather  bad  way.  Its 
adherents  in  America  and  Ireland  were  divided  into  two 
hostile  camps,  and  its  most  recent  effort  had  been  of  a 
very  poor  and  depressing  character.  In  fact,  the  division 
of  forces  had  been  brought  about  by  the  failure  of  this 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE,  I9 

selfsame  effort,  an  attempt  at  the  emancipation  of  Ireland, 
which  is  known  as  "  the  '65  movement."  It  was  organ- 
ized by  the  Fenians  in  Ireland  and  America,  under  the 
direction  of  James  Stephens  ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  its 
development  very  many  officers  and  men  crossed  to  Ire- 
land from  American  soil.  The  attempted  rising,  however, 
proved,  like  almost  all  Fenian  efforts,  a  fiasco.  It  was 
found  that  Stephens  had  wofully  misrepresented  the  state 
of  affairs  at  home,  both  as  regards  preparation  and  enthu- 
siasm ;  and  those  who  had  come  from  America  returned 
to  their  homes,  disgusted  and  indignant  at  the  way  in 
which  they  had  been  sold. 

In  the  result  disaffection  quickly  spread,  and  the  organ- 
ization in  America  broke  up  into  hostile  camps,  the  ma- 
jority, under  the  leadership  of  Colonel  W.  R.  Roberts, 
revolting  from  the  leadership  of  Stephens  and  Mahoney, 
and  declaring  their  belief  that  ''  no  direct  invasion  or 
armed  insurrection  in  Ireland  would  ever  be  successful 
in  establishing  an  Irish  Republic  upon  Irish  soil,  and 
placing  her  once  more  in  her  proper  place  as  a  nation 
amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth."  Not  content,  how- 
ever, with  the  situation,  the  seceders  met  in  convention 
in  September  1865  in  Cincinnati,  and  formed  themselves 
into  what  was  known  for  the  next  eventful  five  years  of 
its  existence  as  the  Senate  Wing  of  the  Fenian  Brother- 
hood. They  scoffed  at  the  idea  of  invading  Ireland  suc- 
cessfully, but  by  no  means  advocated  a  policy  of  inaction. 
They  simply  sought  to  change  the  base  of  operations. 
''The  invasion  of  Canada  "  became  their  cry;  and  with 
this  as  their  programme  they  succeeded  in  gaining  the 
allegiance  of  some  thousands  of  the  disaffected  Irish, 
whose  support  was  attracted  by  the  familiar  device  of  a 
de  facto  civil  and  military  Irish  Government  upon  paper, 


20  TWENTY-FIVE   YEARS 

framed  upon  the  model  of  the  United  States.  A  good 
deal  of  money  was  subscribed,  and  with  funds  so  obtained 
ammunition  was  purchased  and  shipped  along  the  Cana- 
dian border. 

The  methods  of  obtaining  money  were  many  and  varied, 
but  none  was  more  successful   than  the  issue  of  JF^iiian 
bonds.     These  bonds  were  given  in  exchange  for  ready 
money  to  the  many  simple  souls  who  believed  in  the  pos- 
sibility of  an  Irish  Republic,  and  who  were  quite  ready  to 
/    part  with  their  little  all,  in  the  belief  that  later  on,  when 
'^    their  country  was  "a  nation  once  again,"  they  would  be 
repaid  with  interest.     Very  many  of  the  persons  display- 
ing this  credulity  were  Irish  girls  in  service  in  the  States, 
and  thus  came  into  vogue  the  sneering  reference  to  the 
agitation  being  financed  by  the  servant  girls  of  New  York. 
V   The  bond  read  as  follows  :  — 

*'No.       .  '  No.       . 

"It  is  hereby  certified  that 
"The  Irish  Republic 
is  indebted  to  or  bearer  in  the  sum  of    Ten  Dollars, 

redeemable  six  months  after  the  acknowledgment  of  the  independence  of  the 
Irish  Nation,  with  interest  from  the  date  hereof  inclusive  at  six  per  cent  per 
annum,  payable  on  presentation  of  this  bond  at  the  Treasury  of  the  Irish 
Republic. 


Date 


Stamp  Office 

of  the 

Treasury. 


John  O'Neill, 
Agent  for  the  Irish  Republic.'''' 


A  curious  feature  of  the  intended  invasion  was  the 
publicity  given  to  the  design,  and,  more  remarkable  still, 
the  action,  or  rather  want  of  action,  of  the  United  States 
Government  in  regard  to  it.  This  latter,  indeed,  was  the 
subject  of  very  angry  comment  at  the  time  on  the  part  of 
Englishmen  resident  in  the  States.     It  certainly  seemed 


IN  THE  SFXRET  SERVICE.  21 

strange,  and  passing  all  comprehension,  that  the  United 
States  Government,  although  in  full  possession  of  the 
facts,  and  quite  peaceful  in  its  relations  with  England, 
could  have  permitted  the  organization  of  a  raid  upon 
a  portion  of  English  possessions  without  movement  or 
demur  on  their  part  of  any  kind  whatever.  Yet  such  is 
the  deplorable  fact.  From  the  commencement  of  the 
preparations  till  five  days  after  the  Fenians  had  crossed 
at  Black  Rock,  the  government  of  President  Andrew 
Johnson  did  nothing  whatever  to  prevent  this  band  of 
marauders  from  carrying  out  their  much-talked-of  invasion. 

Let  it  not.be  thought  that  I  exaggerate  or  draw  on  my 
imagination.  I  do  not.  If  evidence  in  support  of  my 
statement  be  needed,  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  speeches 
made  from  public  platforms,  in  open  meetings,  fully  re- 
ported throughout  the  country  at  the  time. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  I  was  brought  into  close 
acquaintance  with  Fenianism  and  its  workings.  Strangely 
enough,  it  was  my  army  associations  which  formed  the 
medium.  Through  an  old  companion-in-arms,  the  man 
O'Neill  mentioned  above,  by  whose  side  I  had  served  and 
fought,  I  learnt,  at  first  casually,  and  in  broken  conversa- 
tion, what  was  transpiring  in  the  circles  of  the  conspiracy. 
Indignant  as  I  was  at  learning  what  was  being  done 
against  the  interest  of  my  native  country,  I  knew  not 
how  to  circumvent  the  operations  of  the  conspirators, 
and  did  nothing  publicly  in  the  matter.  Without  my  own 
knowledge,  however,  I  was  to  become  one  of  the  instru- 
ments for  upsetting  all  these  schemes.  Writing  as  I 
regularly  did  to  my  father,  I  mentioned  simply  by  way  of 
startling  news  the  facts  I  learned  from  O'Neill.  My 
letters,  written  in  the  careless  spirit  of  a  wanderer's 
notes,  were  destined  to  become  political  despatches  of  an 


'22  TWENTY-FIVE   YEARS 

important  character.  Without  reference  to  me,  my  father 
made  immediate  and  effective  use  of  them.  Startled  and 
dismayed  at  the  tidings  I  conveyed,  he,  true  Briton  that 
he  was,  could  not  keep  the  information  to  himself,  but 
handed  over  my  letters  immediately  to  John  Gordon 
Rebow,  the  sitting  member  for  Colchester. 

Mr.  Rebow,  fully  concurring  with  my  father  as  to  the 
importance  of  my  news,  proposed  that  he  should,  without 
delay,  communicate  with  the  Government  of  the  day, 
to  which  my  father  agreed.  In  this  way  my  first  con- 
nection with  the  Government  was  brought  about.  So 
keenly  alive  to  the  position  of  affairs  did  the  Home 
Secretary  (Hon.  Geo.  Gray)  show  himself,  that  he,  as  I 
learnt  subsequently,  in  the  most  earnest  way  requested 
my  father  to  correspond  with  me  on  the  subject,  and  to 
arrange  for  my  transmitting  through  him  to  the  Govern- 
ment every  detail  with  which  I  could  become  acquainted. 
This  I  did,  and  continued  so  doing  until  the  raid  into 
Canada  had  been  attempted,  and  attended  with  failure. 


Before  proceeding  further,  I  had  perhaps  better  give 
some  idea  of  what  the  raid  was  like.  The  details  should 
prove  of  interest,  if  for  no  other  purpose  than  that  of 
contrast  with  those  of  the  second  attempted  invasion,  of 
which  I  shall  have  to  speak  more  fully  later  on.  This, 
which  was  the  first  invasion  of  Canada  by  the  Fenian 
organization,  took  place  upon  the  morning  of  the  first  of 
June  1866.  As  I  have  already  stated,  the  design  had 
been  flourished  in  the  face  of  government  and  people  for 
six  months  previously.     All  this  time,  active  preparations 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  23 

were  proceeding,  and  thousands  of  stands-of-arms,  to- 
gether with  millions  of  rounds  of  ammunition,  had  been 
purchased  from  the  United  States  Government  and  located 
at  different  points  along  the  Canadian  border  ;  while  during 
the  spring  of  the  year,  military  companies,  armed  and 
uniformed  as  Irish  Fenian  soldiers,  were  drilled  week  by 
week  in  many  of  the  large  cities  of  the  United  States. 

No  opposition  was  offered  to  the  proceedings  ;  indeed, 
John  F.  Finerty,  the  editor  of  the  Chicago  Citizen,  in  a 
public  speech  made  by  him  at  Chicago  so  late  as  Febru- 
ary 5,  1886,  declared  with  great  glee  that  Andrew  John- 
son, the  then  President  of  the  United  States,  openly 
encouraged  the  movement  for  the  purpose  of  turning  it 
to  political  account  in  the  settlement  of  the  Alabama 
claims.  Be  the  blame  whose  it  may,  however,  the  result 
was  not  unsatisfactory.  The  attempt  proved  a  complete 
failure.  The  Fenians  were  driven  out  of  Canada,  sixty  of 
them  killed  and  two  hundred  taken  prisoners,  with  the 
loss  of  but  six  lives  in  the  Canadian  ranks.  All  the  same, 
however,  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  things  I  speak 
of  existed,  while,  to  make  matters  worse,  not  a  single  one 
of  the  defeated  invaders  was  called  to  account  by  the 
United  States  for  the  violation  of  the  Neutrality  Laws. 

The  whole  affair,  viewed  from  any  but  an  imaginative 
Fenian  standpoint,  was  of  a  ludicrous  character.  The 
time  for  the  operation  was  chosen  by  the  Fenian  Secre- 
tary for  War,  General  T.  W.  Sweeny,  then  commanding 
the  1 6th  United  States  Infantry  stationed  at  Nashville, 
Tennessee.  A  particular  route  had  been  selected,  but 
when  the  amount  of  funds  came  to  be  questioned,  the 
original  idea  of  carrying  the  men  by  steamer  to  Goodrich, 
Canada,  had  to  be  abandoned  for  the  less  romantic  but 
more  economical  process  of  crossing  the  Niagara  River  in 


24  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

flat  boats  with  a  steam-tug  called  into  requisition.  Under 
the  command  of  General  John  O'Neill,  and  a  number  of 
other  gentlemen  of  high-sounding  ranks,  and  distinctly 
Irish  patronymics,  the  raid  actually  came  off  on  the 
morning  of  the  ist  of  June,  when  about  3  a.m.,  some  600 
or  800  Irish  patriots,  full  of  whiskey,  and  thirsting  for 
glory,  were  quietly  towed  across  the  Niagara  River  to  a 
point  on  the  Canadian  side  called  Waterloo  ! 

At  4  A.M.  the  Irish  flag  was  planted  on  British  soil  by 
Colonel  Owen  Starr,  commanding  the  contingent  from 
Kentucky,  one  of  the  first  to  land.  Unfortunately  no 
Canadian  troops  were  in  the  vicinity,  and  O'Neill's  com- 
mand, which  had  by  the  next  day  decreased  to  some  500, 
marched  upon  and  captured  Fort  Erie,  containing  a  small 
detachment  of  the  Welland  battery.  Matters,  however, 
were  not  long  allowed  to  go  in  favor  of  the  invaders. 
In  a  very  little  time  the  22d  Battalion  of  Volunteers  of 
Toronto  —  a  splendid  band  of  citizen-soldiers  —  appeared 
upon  the  scene,  and  at  Ridgeway,  a  few  miles  inland, 
there  occurred  a  fair  stand-up  fight,  in  which  the  Fenians 
in  the  end  got  the  worst  of  the  day's  vv^ork.  Ridgeway 
has  frequently  since  been  claimed  by  the  Fenian  orators 
as  a  glorious  victory,  but  without  justification.  It  is  true 
that  at  first,  flushed  with  their  almost  bloodless  victory  at 
Fort  Erie,  the  Fenians  advanced  fiercely  upon  their  oppo- 
nents, and  for  the  moment  repulsed  them  ;  but  in  the  end 
the  Canadians  triumphed,  and  succeeded  in  putting  the 
invaders  to  flight,  driving  them  back  to  Fort  Erie  a  fren- 
zied ungovernable  mob,  only  too  thankful  to  be  taken  as 
prisoners  by  the  United  States  war  steamer  MichigaUy 
and  protected  from  total  annihilation  at  the  hands  of  the, 
by  this  time,  thoroughly  aroused  and  wrathful  Canadian 
citizens. 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  2$ 

The  following  extracts  from  the  official  report  made  by 
General  O'Neill  to  Colonel  William  R.  Roberts,  President 
of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood,  though  very  highly  colored, 
admits  the  defeat :  — 

"Here  truth  compels  me  to  make  an  admission  I  would  fain  have  kept 
from  the  public.  Some  of  the  men  who  crossed  over  with  us  the  night  before 
(i.e.,  the  morning  of  the  ist  of  June),  managed  to  leave  the  command  during 
the  day,  and  re-crossed  to  Buffalo,  while  others  remained  in  houses  around 
the  fort  marauding.  (Real  Irish  patriots  these!)  This  I  record  to  their 
lasting  disgrace. 

"On  account  of  this  shameful  desertion,  and  the  fact  that  arms  had  been 
sent  out  for  800  men,  I  had  to  destroy  300  stand  to  prevent  them  from  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.   .  .   . 

"  At  this  time  I  could  not  depend  upon  more  than  500  men,  one-tenth  of 
the  reputed  number  of  the  enemy,  which  I  knew  was  surrounding  me  —  rather 
a  critical  position. 

"Thus  situated,  and  not  knowing  what  was  going  on  elsewhere,  I  decided 
that  the  best  course  was  to  return  to  Fort  Erie  and  ascertain  if  crossings  had 
been  made  at  other  points;  and,  if  so,  I  was  content  to  sacrifice  myself  and 
my  noble  little  command  for  the  sake  of  leaving  the  way  open. 

"  I  returned  to  the  old  fort  (Erie),  and  about  six  o'clock  sent  word  to 
Captain  W.  J.  Hynes,  and  his  friends  at  Buffalo,  that  the  enemy  would  sur- 
round me  with  5,000  men  before  morning,  fully  provided  with  artillery;  that 
my  little  command,  which  had  by  this  time  considerably  decreased,  could  not 
hold  out  long;  but  that,  if  a  movement  was  going  on  elsewhere,  I  was  per- 
fectly willing  to  make  the  old  fort  a  slaughter-pen,  which  I  knew  would  be  the 
case  the  next  day  if  I  remained. 

"  Previous  to  this  time,  some  of  the  officers  and  men,  realizing  the  danger 
of  their  position,  availed  themselves  of  the  small  boats  and  re-crossed  the 
river;  but  the  greater  portion  of  them  —  317,  including  officers  —  remained 
until  2  A.M.,  June  3,  when  all,  except  a  few  wounded  men,  went  safely  on 
board  a  large  scow  attached  to  a  tug-boat,  and  were  hauled  into  American 
waters. 

"  Here  they  were  hailed  by  the  United  States  steamer,  which  fired  across 
their  bows  and  demanded  their  surrender.  With  this  request  we  complied, 
not  because  we  feared  the  twelve-pounders  or  the  still  more  powerful  guns  of 
the  Michigan.,  but  because  we  respected  the  authority  of  the  United  States."  ! ! ! 


26  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

Thus  fought  the  Irish  patriots  of  1866.  Thus  ended 
the  first  Fenian  raid  upon  Canada.  Not  a  glorious 
achievement  by  any  means.  Quite  the  reverse  in  fact. 
Even  the  leader  of  the  expedition  himself  has  to  sub- 
scribe to  failure  and  defeat.  And  yet  there  have  been, 
and  are  to-day,  men  who  boast  of  all  this  as  a  glorious 
victory,  and  proudly  vaunt  the  statement  that  they  were 
present  at  and  participated  in  it. 

Lucky  it  was  that  the  movement  was  thus  defeated  at  its 
very  start.  If  it  had  not,  the  consequences  might  have 
been  very  different  indeed.  The  news  of  the  temporary 
victory  at  Fort  Erie  had  a  wonderful  effect,  and  by  the 
7th  of  June  not  less  than  30,000  men  had  assembled  in 
and  around  Buffalo.  The  defeat  of  their  comrades,  how- 
ever, and  the  tardy  issue  of  Andrew  Johnson's  procla- 
mation enforcing  the  Neutrality  Laws,  left  them  no 
opening,  and  so  the  whole  affair  fizzled  out  in  the  most 
undignified  manner.  Undignified  indeed  it  was  for  all 
parties  concerned.  The  prisoners  were  without  a  single 
exception  released  on  their  own  recognizances,  and  sent 
home  by  the  United  States  authorities  ;  while  the  arms 
seized  by  the  United  States  Government,  through  General 
Meade,  commanding  in  Buffalo,  were  returned  to  the 
Fenian  organization,  only  to  be  used  for  the  same  pur- 
pose some  four  years  later. 


VI. 


Meantime  the  conditions  of  peace,  in  purely  American 
matters,  had  set  in,  and  the  army  was  reduced  to  a  nominal 
footing.  I  took  advantage  of  the  state  of  affairs  to  settle 
down  to  a  civilian  style  of  life.     The  first  question  that 


IN   THE   SECRET  SERVICE.  2/ 

called  for  thought  and  care  was  my  future  vocation  in 
life.  The  father  of  a  family,  it  became  necessary  for  me 
to  look  out  for  some  means  of  obtaining  a  settled  income. 
Acting  under  the  advice  of  an  old  comrade,  now  a  Senator 
of  Illinois,  I  finally  determined  to  study  medicine,  and  set 
to  work  in  this  direction  without  delay. 

While  so  engaged,  I  paid  my  first  visit  to  Europe  in  the 
autumn  or  "fall  "  of  1867,  and  once  more  met  my  father 
and  mother  in  the  flesh.  My  letters  regarding  Fenian 
matters  were  naturally  a  topic  of  interesting  conversation 
between  us,  and  my  father  with  much  pride  showed  me 
the  written  acknowledgments  he  had  received  for  his 
action  in  the  matter.  Poor  old  father !  Never  was 
Briton  prouder  than  he  of  the  service  he  had  been  enabled 
to  do  his  country  —  services  unpaid  and  as  purely  patriotic 
as  ever  Englishman  rendered.  No  payment  vv^as  ever 
made  —  none  was  asked  or  expected  —  for  whatever  little 
good  I  had  been  enabled  to  accomplish  up  to  this  time. 
Matters,  however,  were  now  to  develop  in  a  new  and 
unexpected  way.  Mr.  Rebow  expressed  a  desire  to  see 
me,  and,  accompanied  by  my  father,  I  visited  him  at  his 
seat,  Wyvenhoe  Park.  He  subsequently  visited  me  on 
several  occasions  at  my  father's  house,  and  had  many 
chats  on  the  all-absorbing  topic  of  Fenianism.  Learning 
from  me  that  the  organization  was  still  prosperous  and 
meant  mischief  —  my  friend  O'Neill  having  succeeded 
Colonel  Roberts  as  president  —  he  gained  my  consent  to 
enter  into  personal  communication  with  the  English  Gov- 
ernment. In  a  few  days  I  received  through  him  an 
official  communication  requesting  me  to  attend  at  50 
Harley  Street.  To  Harley  Street  I  went,  and  there  met 
two  officials,  by  whom  a  proposition  was  made  that  I 
should  become  a  paid  agent  of  the  Government,  and  that 


28  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

on  my  return  to  the  United  States  I  should  ally  myself  to 
the  Fenian  organization,  in  order  to  play  the  role  of  spy 
in  the  rebel  ranks.  I  knew  that  this  proposal  was  coming. 
I  had  thought  over  the  whole  matter  carefully,  and  I  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  I  would  consent,  which  I 
did.  My  adventurous  nature  prompted  me  to  sympathy 
with  the  idea ;  my  British  instincts  made  me  a  willing 
worker  from  a  sense  of  right,  and  my  past  success 
promised  good  things  for  the  future, 

I  returned,  therefore,  to  the  States  in  the  Government 
service  ;  and,  taking  advantage  of  an  early  meeting  with 
O'Neill  in  New  York,  I  proffered  him  my  services  as  a 
military  man  in  case  of  active  warfare.  O'Neill,  delighted 
at  the  idea,  promised  me  a  position  in  the  near  future,  and 
I  returned  to  my  home  in  the  West,  pledged  to  help  the 
cause  there  meantime. ^ 

And  now  a  few  words  as  to  O'Neill.  Taking  the  prom- 
inent part  he  did  in  Fenian  affairs  at  this  time,  he  cer- 
tainly proved  a  very  interesting  personality.  General 
O'Neill,  Irish  by  birth,  was  born  on  the  8th  of  March  1834, 
in  the  town  of  Drumgallon,  parish  of  Clontifret,  Co.  Mon- 
aghan.  He  emigrated  when  young  w^ith  his  family  to  the 
United  States,  and  settled  at  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey. 
Enlisting  in  the  2d  United  States  Cavalry  as  a  private 
soldier  in  1857,  he  was  engaged  in  fighting  Indians  in  the 
Far  West  for  some  three  years.  Upon  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  he  was  commissioned  as 
lieutenant  in  the  5th  Indiana  Cavalry.  From  this  he  re- 
ceived promotion  in  the  15th  United  States  Colored 
Infantry,  with  which  regim.ent  he  continued  to  the  end  of 

1  I  was  not  the  only  member  of  the  family  fighting  for  Queen  and  country  then. 
Two  others  of  my  brothers  entered  the  army  at  home.  One  is  to-day  a  commis- 
sioned officer  in  South  Africa  ;  the  other,  poor  fellow,  left  his  bones  to  whiten  on 
the  battlefield  of  Tel-el-Kebir. 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE, 


29 


the  war.  Resigning  his  command  at  the  conclusion  of 
hostilities,  he  commenced  business  as  a  United  States 
Claim  Agent  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where,  it  will  be 
remembered,  I  was  stationed  with  my  regiment  for  a  long 
time  after  the  cessation  of  active  operations. 

When  freed  from  the  discipline  of  his  military  service, 
O'Neill  —  ardent  Fenian  that  he  was — threw  himself 
heart  and  soul  into  the  Irish  rebel  movement  in  the  States. 
He  raised  and  commanded  the  Tennessee  contingent  in 
the  movement  upon  Canada  in  1866,  taking  command  of 
the  entire  expedition  by  reason  of  his  seniority  of  rank 
and  his  proved  knowledge  of  military  tactics.  I  have 
already  quoted  his  report  of  the  termination  of  this  "  in- 
vasion." 

At  the  Cleveland  Convention  of  September  1867,  he 
was  elected  a  senator  of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood  ;  and  on 
the  31st  of  December  1867,  owing  to  the  resignation  of 
Colonel  W.  R.  Roberts,  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
brotherhood. 

In  personal  appearance  O'Neill  was  a  very  fine-looking 
man.  Nature  had  dealt  kindly  with  him.  Within  a  couple 
of  inches  of  six  feet  in  height,  possessing  a'fine  physique 
and  a  distinctive  Celtic  face,  he  combined  an  undoubted 
military  bearing  with  a  rich  sonorous  voice,  which  lent  to 
his  presence  a  certain  persuasive  charm.  He  had  one 
fault,  however  —  a  fault  which  developed  to  the  extremest 
point  when  he  attained  the  presidency  of  the  Fenian 
Brotherhood.  This  was  his  egotism.  He  was  the  most 
egotistical  soul  I  ever  met  in  the  whole  course  of  my  life. 
In  his  belief,  the  Irish  cause  lived,  moved,  and  had  its 
being  in  John  O'Neill  ;  and  this  absurd  self-love  contrib- 
uted to  many  disasters,  which  a  more  even-headed  leader 
would  never  have  brought  about. 


30 


TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


VII. 


On  my  return  to  my  Western  home,  I  lost  no  time  in 
commencing  my  double  life.  I  organized  a  Fenian  ''cir- 
cle "  or  camp  in  Lockport,  Illinois,  and  took  the  position 
of  "  centre  "  or  commander  of  it,  thus  becoming  the  me- 
dium for  receiving  all  official  reports  and  documents  issued 
by  O'Neill,  the  contents  of  which  documents  were,  of 
course,  communicated  by  me  to  the  Home  Government. 
I  went  to  work  with  a  will,  and  was  soon  in  the  very  thick 
of  the  conspiracy,  organized  a  military  company  for  the 
Irish  Republican  Army,  and  eventually  attended  the 
Springfield  Convention  in  the  position  of  a  delegate. 

While  so  engaged,  I  entered  the  Chicago  Medical  Col- 
lege, and  commenced  my  medical  studies  in  earnest.  I 
was  much  assisted  in  this  direction  by  the  kindly  help 
of  an  old  friend.  Dr.  Bacon,  who  had  been  attached  to  my 
regiment  in  war  times  as  surgeon.  He  was  then  surgeon 
to  the  Illinois  State  Penitentiary,  and  through  him  I 
obtained  the  position  created  at  this  time  of  Hospital 
Steward,  or,  in  other  words,  Resident  Medical  Officer  in 
that  institution.  There  was  a  comfortable  salary  attached 
to  the  office,  which  I  found  to  be  in  every  sense  a  useful 
post.  Although,  as  matters  turned  out,  I  was  only  to 
spend  some  few  months  there,  I  gained  even  in  this  short 
time  a  vast  amount  of  experience  in  almost  every  branch 
of  medical  study. 

Life,  indeed,  in  the  Illinois  Penitentiary  gave  me  expe- 
rience in  many  ways.  It  brought  me  for  the  first  time 
into  direct   contact   with   many  of  the   evils  which  then 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  3  I 

affected  official  administration.  Things,  of  course,  are 
different  now,  though  it  must  be  confessed  still  anything 
but  perfect  ;  but  when  compared  with  the  usages  of 
olden  times,  the  shortcomings  of  the  present  system  are 
of  no  account  whatever.  At  the  time  of  which  I  speak, 
money  could  accomplish  everything,  from  the  obtaining 
of  luxuries  in  prison  to  the  purchase  of  pardon  and  free- 
dom itself.  Everything  connected  with  the  prison  admin- 
istration was  rotten  to  the  core.  Corruption  was  in  every 
place.  The  penitentiary  contained  some  fifteen  hundred 
prisoners,  and  the  whole  management  of  affairs  affecting 
these  men  was  vested  in  three  commissioners,  as  they 
were  styled,  whose  proceedings  were  of  the  most  flagrant 
and  jobbing  character.  So  great  did  the  scandals  of  their 
doings  become  at  one  period,  that  one  of  the  three  had  to 
abscond  ;  but  so  demoralized  was  the  condition  of  affairs 
that  no  attempt  was  made  to  arrest  and  bring  him  back. 
These  three  men  had  no  object  save  that  of  gaining 
money.  They  were  the  proprietors  of  a  general  shop 
inside  the  prison,  from  which  the  prisoners  purchased 
luxuries  at  usurious  rates  ;  and  the  work  of  the  prisoners 
themselves  was  let  out  to  contractors,  who  paid  heavily 
for  the  privilege  of  remaining  undisturbed  in  their  mo- 
nopoly. Everything  was  turned  to  money.  In  one  case 
I  knew  of  a  prisoner,  failing  to  win  his  cause  on  appeal, 
and  having  thereby  to  undergo  a  period  of  seven-years' 
imprisonment,  being  offered  his  release  for  a  sum  of  10,000 
dollars,  which  offer  he  refused,  stating  in  the  most  busi- 
ness-like way  that  he  would  only  give  7,000.  This  was 
not  considered  satisfactory,  and  so  the  negotiations  fell 
through. 

No  popular  idea  of  prison  life  now  indulged  in  at  all  fits 
in  with  the  actual  condition  of  affairs  five  and  twenty  years 


32  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

ago.  Money  was  useful  for  the  purpose  of  commerce  in 
the  Commissioners'  interest,  and  therefore  was  allowed 
free  circulation  amongst  those  confined.  Those  who  could 
afford  it,  and  whose  cases  were  not  finally  decided  —  ap- 
peals were  constantly  being  heard  —  were  allowed  to  board 
at  the  Governor's  table,  to  wear  their  own  clothes,  and  in 
every  way  conduct  themselves  as  if  in  a  private  house. 
In  those  days  the  prisoners  were  not  shaved  —  they  wore 
their  hair  and  whiskers  as  they  pleased.  Those  who  could 
not  afford  to  live  the  lives  of  gentlemen  had  the  store  to 
go  to  for  petty  luxuries  ;  and  so,  no  matter  how  matters 
turned,  the  Commissioners  were  the  gainers.  The  Gov- 
ernor, or  Warden,  as  he  was  called,  was  their  nominee, 
dependent  upon  them  for  oflBce  ;  and  everything  was  gov- 
erned by  their  wishes  and  desires. 

In  such  a  vast  assembly  of  criminals  there  were  many 
whose  characters  and  careers  formed  subjects  for  very  in- 
teresting study  to  me.  I  was  fortunate  in  being  connected 
with  the  prison  at  a  time  when  some  more  than  usually 
clever  and  facile  scoundrels  were  temporarily  resident 
there.  Towering  head  and  shoulders  over  the  whole  crowd 
was  that  king  of  forgers,  Colonel  Cross,  perhaps  the  most 
daring,  successful,  and  expert  penman  of  our  time.  About 
forty  years  of  age  at  this  period,  a  man  of  fine  command- 
ing presence,  splendid  diction,  and  gentlemanly  demeanor, 
Cross  attracted  me  from  the  first  day  I  was  brought 
into  contact  with  him.  The  son  of  one  of  the  most 
prominent  Episcopalian  clergymen  in  the  United  States, 
he  was  possessed  of  a  wide  classical  education,  and  dis- 
coursed with  intelligence  and  wondrous  fluency  on  theol- 
ogy, medicine,  and  every  kind  of  science. 

He  was  no  ordinary  criminal.  Even  in  prison  he  com- 
manded admiration  from  his    fellows,   and   I   was  often 


W   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  33 

amazed  to  see  how  respectful  were  the  salutations  accorded 
him  as  he  moved  about.  He  boasted,  I  learned  afterwards 
with  truth,  that  he  had  never  robbed  a  poor  man  ;  and, 
strange  being  that  he  was,  he  had  borne  almost  all  the 
cost  of  the  education  of  his  brother's  children.  Indeed, 
at  the  time  I  met  him,  he  was  educating  in  the  most  ex- 
pensive manner  a  poor  little  girl  whom,  in  a  moment  of 
generous  caprice,  he  had  adopted  as  his  daughter. 

When  I  was  first  brought  into  contact  with  him.  Cross 
had  his  case  before  the  courts  on  appeal,  and,  pending  the 
decision,  he  was  living  in  the  most  expensive  way  in 
prison,  boarding  at  the  Governor's  table,  dressing  in  the 
most  fashionable  way,  and  smoking  the  best  of  cigars. 
Having  no  work  to  do,  he  interested  himself  in  the  affairs 
of  his  fellow-prisoners  ;  and  so  clever  and  capable  was  he, 
and  so  great  a  knowledge  of  law  did  he  possess,  that  he 
succeeded  in  preparing  the  cases  of  many  of  them  for 
appeal  in  such  a  way  as  to  allow  of  their  regaining  their 
liberty. 

I  had  not  been  in  the  prison  very  long  before  he  ap- 
pealed to  me  to  take  him  as  my  assistant  in  the  hospital ; 
and  attracted  by  the  man  as  I  was,  I  acceded  to  his 
"request,  to  discover  subsequently  that  I  had  a  most 
valuable  attendant,  whose  knowledge  of  medicine  was 
both  extensive  and  practical. 


VHI. 

The  career  of  Cross  would  supply  material  for  a  most 
exciting  fiovel.  He  always  went  in  for  ''big  things,"  as 
he  phrased  it.  Nothing  troubled  him  more  than  the  fact 
that  he  was  then  undergoing  punishment  for  a  small  affair 


34  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

which  he  contemptuously  referred  to  as  being  too  paltry 
altogether  for  association  with  him.  Perhaps  the  ''big- 
gest thing  "  he  ever  did  was  the  forgery  of  a  check  for 
^80,000  in  Liverpool,  and  his  escape  with  the  booty. 
Like  many  other  talented  criminals,  if  he  had  but  turned 
his  ability  to  proper  account,  he  would  undoubtedly  have 
won  a  place  and  name  in  the  foremost  ranks  of  honest 
men  to-day.  He  planned  his  enterprises  with  the  most 
consummate  care,  and  worked  them  out  for  months  before 
reaching  the  final  stage.  An  illustration  of  his  method 
was  very  well  afforded  by  his  forgery  on  the  Park 
National  Bank  of    New  York. 

Determining  to  commit  a  forgery  on  this  bank,  he  set 
to  work  to  obtain  the  needful  introduction  and  guarantee 
for  his  accomplice,  who  should  eventually  present  the 
forged  check.  He,  by  the  way,  never  presented  a  forged 
check  himself  —  this  was  always  the  work  of  an  accom- 
plice. In  order,  therefore,  to  obtain  the  introduction  to 
the  bank,  he  opened  some  business  with  a  certain  firm  of 
brokers  in  Wall  Street  who  happened  to  ''  deposit  "  at  the 
particular  bank  in  question.  In  this  way  he  ran  up  an 
account  for  a  respectable  sum,  to  obtain  the  repayment 
for  which  he  one  day  went  to  the  office  in  Wall  Street 
accompanied  by  one  Simmons,  the  accomplice  in  the 
future  forgery.  The  check  —  a  draft  for  twelve  hundred 
dollars  —  was  duly  drawn,  when  Cross  asked  his  friend 
Simmons  to  go  to  the  bank  to  cash  it,  requesting  in  a 
free-and-easy  way  that  the  broker  might  send  one  of  his 
clerks  with  him  to  identify  Simmons,  he  being  a  stranger. 
No  suspicion  was  indulged  in  —  there  was  no  ground  for 
such,  and  the  request  was  willingly  complied  with.  Sim- 
mons, coached  by  Cross  beforehand,  had  a  hundred-dollar 
bill  in  his  pocket,  the  use  for  which  will  be  apparent  in  a 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  35 

moment.  When  the  clerk  and  he  reached  the  bank,  the 
necessary  introduction  took  place  ;  and  in  reply  to  the 
usual  question  how  he  wished  the  money,  Simmons  replied, 
"  In  hundred-dollar  bills."  As  the  clerk  counted  the 
notes,  Simmons  drew  his  bill  out  of  his  pocket,  and  mix- 
ing all  up  as  he  stood  aside  to  check  his  payment,  he 
recalled  the  clerk's  attention  by  the  announcement  that 
he  had  given  him  thirteen  instead  of  twelve  bills.  The 
clerk  indignantly  protested  he  had  made  no  mistake. 
Simmons,  playing  the  role  of  honest  man,  became  dis- 
tressed, the  manager  was  appealed  to,  one  of  the  notes 
eventually  received  back,  and  Simmons  retired,  the  recip- 
ient of  most  fulsome  thanks,  his  character  and  reputation 
fully  established  in  the  minds  of  the  banking  officials. 
Of  course  the  clerk  was  one  hundred  dollars  to  the  good 
at  the  end  of  the  day,  but  Simmons's  claim  to  honesty  in 
no  way  suffered  by  the  fact,  as  no  one  for  a  moment 
thought  of  a  plot. 

Content  to  lose  the  hundred-dollar  bill,  in  the  promise 
of  things  to  come,  Cross  continued  his  legitimate  traffic 
with  the  brokers,  Simmons,  on  the  most  friendly  terms  at 
the  bank,  cashing  the  checks,  which  increased  in  amount 
as  the  time  passed.  Months  had  passed,  and  nothing  of 
an  illegal  nature  had  been  attempted,  when  at  the  end  of 
the  fifth  month  a  genuine  check  for  thirty  dollars  was  by 
Cross  changed  to  30,000,  and  cashed  by  Simmons  without 
the  slightest  hesitation  or  suspicion  at  the  bank,  both 
Cross  and  he  escaping  with  the  booty. 

Many  and  varied  as  were  Cross's  tricks  with  his  pen, 
none  was  more  daring  or  successful  than  that  which  led 
to  his  escape  from  Sing-Sing  Prison,  that  famous  home 
of  criminals  in  New  York.  Obtaining  through  outside 
agency  a  printed  and  properly  headed  sheet  of  note-paper 


36  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

and  envelope  from  the  Governor  of  the  States'  Office  at 
Albany,  he  actually  forged  the  order  for  his  own  release, 
had  it  posted  formally  from  Albany,  and,  on  its  receipt, 
obtained  his  freedom  without  provoking  the  slightest  sus- 
picion or  inquiry. 

I  am  glad  to  say  that  Colonel  Cross  still  lives,  and  is 
now  working  out  an  honest  existence  under  another  name 
in  the  north-west  of  America. 

My  life  at  the  Illinois  Penitentiary  was  crowded  with 
incidents,  and  little  leisure  was  left  me.  Where  real 
sickness  did  not  exist,  shamming  and  malingering  in  their 
most  ingenious  phases  were  resorted  to.  I  was  amazed 
at  the  talent  brought  to  bear  upon  their  attempts  to 
escape  work  by  those  with  whom  I  had  to  deal.  Some 
of  the  methods  adopted  were  simply  marvellous  in  their 
conception  and  execution.  A  more  quick-witted  lot  of 
men  it  has  never  been  my  fate  to  meet.  Every  twist  and 
turn  of  daily  life  was  subordinated  to  the  needs  of  the 
trickster,  and  not  one  single  daily  incident  seemed  to  be 
without  its  possibility  of  application,  either  to  assist  in 
the  attempt  to  shirk  work  or  to  escape  from  imprisonment 
altogether.  Nothing  in  this  way  impressed  me  more  than 
the  case  of  a  man  known  as  Joe  Devine,  an  eminent  hotel 
sneak  thief,  some  two  and  thirty  years  of  age,  and  of  very 
distinguished  appearance. 

It  happened  that  one  afternoon  about  five  o'clock  a 
negro  prisoner  died  of  consumption.  It  was  the  practice 
to  bury  the  dead  immediately  the  coffin  was  made  ready; 
but,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  coffin  in  this  case  was  not 
ready  till  after  the  prison  gates  had  been  locked  for  the 
night,  the  burial  had  to  be  postponed  till  the  following 
morning. 

Under  the  circumstances,  I  arranged  that  the  coffin 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  7^'j 

with  the  body  enclosed  should  remain  for  the  night  in  the 
prison  bath-room.  This  Joe  Devine  of  whom  I  speak 
happened  to  be  in  charge  of  the  bath-room  at  this  period, 
and  it  therefore  became  his  duty  to  see  that  proper 
arrangements  were  made  for  the  disposal  of  the  coffin  for 
the  night.  Early  the  next  morning,  as  was  customary, 
Devine  and  some  of  his  fellow-prisoners  were  allowed  out 
of  their  cells  some  little  time  before  the  others,  in  order 
to  prepare  the  bath-room  and  other  places  for  their  use. 
With  assistance  Devine  unscrewed  the  coffin,  took  the 
dead  negro  out,  and  concealed  himself  in  his  place,  not, 
however,  before  he  had  worn  down  the  thread  of  the 
screws  in  the  lid,  so  that  they  could  be  thrust  out  with  a 
heavy  push  from  the  inside.  The  time  for  the  funeral 
arrived  in  due  course,  and  the  coffin  was  removed  in  a  little 
cart  accompanied  by  two  prisoners  whose  time  was  nearly 
expired,  and  who  were  therefore  trusted  outside  the  gates 
of  the  prison  (being  known  by  the  name  of  "  trusties  "), 
together  with  the  clergyman  of  the  jail. 

Nothing  happened  till  the  grave  was  reached,  when  De- 
vine,  presumably  concluding  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to 
remain  longer  where  he  was,  burst  the  lid  of  the  coffin  and 
jumped  out,  immediately  starting  off  at  a  run.  The  cler- 
gyman and  "  trusties  "  being  too  horrified  to  offer  any 
resistance,  he  escaped  without  molestation.  The  first  I 
heard  of  the  matter  was  on  the  return  of  the  clergyman 
and  the  ''  trusties  "  with  the  news  that  the  man  had  come 
to  life  ;  but,  as  they  explained  in  their  horrified  way,  he 
was  white,  not  a  nigger  !  The  roll  was  called,  and  Devine 
was  missing  ;  so  we  concluded  he  was  the  white  man  in 
question.  We  then  set  to  work  to  find  the  corpse  of  the 
poor  negro.  For  two  hours  the  prisoners  searched  up  and 
down  without  any  result.     Eventually,  however,  the  body 


38  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS. 


1 


was  discovered  underneath  a  pile  of  towels  in  one  of  the 
box-seats  of  the  bath-room,  the  corpse  being  doubled  up 
in  two,  the  head  and  feet  meeting,  in  order  to  permit  of 
its  being  concealed  in  its  narrow  hiding-place. 

Another  escape  equally  effective,  for  the  moment  at 
least,  was  that  of  a  man  known  as  Bill  Forester,  a  notori- 
ous bank  robber,  and  one  of  the  suspected  murderers  of 
Nathan  the  Jew,  whose  death  in  New  York  created  a  pro- 
found interest  at  the  time.  Forester,  fortunately  for  him- 
self, selected  as  his  medium  of  exit  one  of  the  many  boxes 
employed  by  Mack  &  Co.,  contractors  for  shoemaking, 
who  employed  some  four  hundred  of  the  convicts.  Sur- 
rounded and  hedged  in  between  boots  and  shoes,  in  one  of 
the  large  boxes  used  for  their  transport.  Forester  passed 
through  the  prison  gates  in  one  of  Mack's  vans,  and  not 
till  he  had  got  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  jail 
did  he  venture  to  emerge  from  his  hiding-place.  His 
liberty,  however,  proved  to  be  only  of  a  temporary  char- 
acter, for,  caught  in  another  State  a  little  later,  the  enter- 
prising burglar  was  again  arrested,  and  carried  back  to  the 
penitentiary  to'  complete  his  term  of  imprisonment. 

His  method  had  many  imitations.  None  was  more 
novel  or  disastrous  than  that  employed  by  a  fellow-convict 
whose  name  I  cannot  at  the  moment  recall.  This  poor 
fellow  hit  upon  the  ingenious  idea  of  getting  out  of  durance 
vile  inside  a  load  of  horse-manure,  and  when  the  load  was 
half-way  packed,  he  lay  at  full  length  with  a  breathing 
space  arranged,  while  the  remainder  of  the  loading  was 
completed.  His  intention,  of  course,  was  to  be  freed  from 
his  uncomfortable  position  within  an  hour,  when  the 
manure  would  be  discharged  at  the  quay  adjoining  the 
prison.  To  his  horror,  however,  he  discovered,  when 
the  cart  reached  the  quay,  that  a  gang  of  fellow-convicts 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  39 

were  engaged  unloading  a  boat  under  the  charge  of  armed 
wardens  or  sentries.  To  attempt  escape  meant  instant 
death,  and  there  he  lay  for  hours  with  the  heavy  weight 
of  the  upper  portion  of  the  cart's  load  pressing  upon  him. 
Six  o'clock  came  and  with  it  the  return  of  the  men  and 
sentries  to  prison.  Through  the  long  weary  hours  of  the 
night  the  poor  fellow  lay,  unable  now  to  move  from  the 
consequences  of  his  continued  prostration  in  the  manure  ; 
and  when  the  morning  arrived  he  was  found  but  too  will- 
ing a  captive.  He  was  immediately  placed  under  my 
charge,  but  his  recovery  proved  by  no  means  a  rapid 
affair. 

IX. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  exciting  incidents  of  prison 
life,  I  received  a  telegram  from  O'Neill  in  New  York, 
as  follows  :  "  Come  at  once,  you  are  needed  for  work." 
To  comply  was  to  surrender  my  pleasant  and  interesting 
position,  and  to  lose  for  the  moment  all  chance  of  pursuing 
my  medical  study.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  the 
opportunity  of  doing  good  service  to  my  native  land  pre- 
sented itself.  I  did  not  hesitate.  Communicating  imme- 
diately with  the  "Warden"  or  Governor,  I  resigned  my 
position,  much  to  his  disgust.  He  sought  an  explanation. 
I  could  give  none.  He  offered  an  increased  salary.  I 
was  unable  to  explain  why  even  this  could  not  tempt  me, 
and  so  I  left  in  a  way  which  was  misunderstood,  and  under 
circumstances  which,  by  the  very  reason  for  their  existence, 
could  not  be  appreciated. 

Hurrying  to  New  York,  I  soon  presented  myself  in 
person  to  O'Neill  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Fenian 
Brotherhood,  then  situated  in   the   mansion   at    10  West 


40  TWENTY- FIVE    YEARS 

Fourth  Street.  Here  I  found  the  president  of  the  Brother- 
hood, surrounded  by  his  staff  of  officials,  transacting  the 
duties  of  their  various  positions  with  ail  the  pomp  and 
ceremony  usually  associated  with  the  representatives  of 
the  greatest  nations  on  earth.  I  was  not  long  left  in  sus- 
pense as  to  what  was  required  of  me.  Commissioneti  at 
the  very  outset  as  Major  and  Military  Organizer  of  the 
Irish  Republican  Army  (at  a  salary  of  sixty  dollars  per 
month,  with  seven  dollars  per  day  expenses),  I  was  in- 
structed to  proceed  to  the  Eastern  States  in  company  with 
a  civil  organizer,  in  order  to  visit  and  reorganize  the  differ- 
ent military  bodies  attached  to  the  rebel  society.  To  my 
unhappy  amazement,  I  learned  that  I  was,  while  engaged 
on  this  work,  to  address  public  meetings  in  support  of  the 
cause,  and  my  miserable  feelings  were  accentuated  by 
O'Neill's  desire  that  I  should  accompany  him,  the  very 
evening  of  my  arrival,  to  a  large  demonstration  being  held 
at  Williamsburg,  a  suburb  of  Brooklyn.  I  was  in  a  regular 
mess,  for  if  called  on  to  speak — as  I  feared  —  I  should 
be  found  absolutely  ignorant  of  Irish  affairs.  There  was 
nothing  for  it,  however,  but  to  keep  a  brave  face,  for  I  had 
undertaken  my  work,  and  in  its  lexicon  there  was  no  such 
word  as  fail. 

The  evening  came,  and  with  it  our  trip  to  Williams- 
burg. On  arrival  there,  in  the  company  of  O'Neill  and 
some  brother  officers,  I  found  several  thousands  of  per- 
sons assembled.  We  were  greeted  with  the  greatest 
enthusiasm,  and  given  the  seats  of  honor  to  the  right  and 
left  of  the  chairman.  My  position  was  a  very  unhappy 
one.  I  was  in  a  state  of  excessive  excitement,  for  I 
greatly  feared  what  was  coming.  Seated  as  I  was  next  to 
O'Neill,  I  could  hear  him  tell  the  chairman  on  whom  to 
call,  and  hov/  to  describe  the  speakers ;  and,  as  each  pause 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  4 1 

took  place  between  the  speeches,  I  hung  with  nervous 
dread  on  O'Neill's  words,  fearing  my  name  would  be  the 
next.  The  meeting  proceeded  apace  ;  some  four  or  five 
of  my  companions  had  already  spoken,  and  I  was  begin- 
ning to  think  that,  after  all,  the  evil  hour  was  postponed, 
and  that  for  this  night  at  least  I  was  safe.  Not  so,  how- 
ever. All  but  O'Neill  and  myself  had  spoken,  when,  to 
my  painful  surprise,  I  heard  the  General  call  upon  the 
chairman  to  announce  Major  Le  Caron.  The  moment 
was  fraught  with  danger  ;  my  pulses  throbbed  with  mad- 
dening sensation ;  my  heart  seemed  to  stop  its  beating; 
my  brain  was  on  fire,  and  failure  stared  me  in  the  face. 
With  an  almost  superhuman  effort  I  collected  myself,  and 
as  the  chairman  announced  me  as  Major  M'Caron,  tickled 
by  the  error  into  which  he  had  fallen,  and  the  vast  cheat 
I  was  playing  upon  the  whole  of  them,  I  rose  equal  to  the 
occasion,  to  be  received  with  the  most  enthusiastic  of 
plaudits. 

The  hour  was  very  late,  and  I  took  advantage  of  the 
circumstance.  Proud  and  happy  as  I  was  at  being  with 
them  that  evening,  and  taking  part  in  such  a  magnificent 
demonstration,  they  could  not,  I  said,  expect  me  to  detain 
them  long  at  so  advanced  an  hour.  All  had  been  said 
that  could  be  said  upon  the  subject  nearest  and  dearest  to 
their  hearts.  (Applause.)  If  what  I  had  experienced 
that  night  was  indicative  of  the  spirit  of  patriotism  of  the 
Irish  in  America —  (tremendous  cheering)  — then  indeed 
there  could  be  no  fears  for  the  result.  (Renewed  plau- 
dits.) And  now  I  would  sit  down.  They  were  all  impa- 
tiently waiting,  I  knew,  to  hear  the  stirring  words  of  the 
gallant  hero  of  Ridgeway,  General  O'Neill  —  (thunders 
of  applause) — and  I  would,  in  conclusion,  simply  beg 
of  them  as  lovers  of    liberty  and   motherland  —  (excited 


42 


TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


cheering) — to  place  at  the  disposal  of  General  O'Neill 
the  means  (cash)  necessary  to  carry  out  the  great  work 
on  which  he  was  engaged.  This  work,  I  was  confident, 
would  result  in  the  success  of  our  holy  cause,  and  the 
liberation  of  dear  old  Ireland  from  the  thraldom  of  the 
tyrant's  rule,  which  had  blighted  and  ruined  her  for  seven 
hundred  years. 

These  last  words  worked  my  hearers  up  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  enthusiasm,  and  amidst  their  excited  shouts  and 
cheers  I  resumed  my  seat,  with  the  comforting  reflection 
that  if  it  took  so  little  as  this  to  arouse  the  Irish  people, 
I  could  play  my  role  with  but  little  difficulty.  And  as 
time  passed  on,  and  my  experience  widened,  the  justice 
of  the  reflection  was  fully  assured.  With  a  little  practice 
and  scarce  any  labor,  save  that  necessitated  by  the  use  of 
a  pair  of  scissors  and  some  paste,  I  succeeded  in  hood- 
winking the  poor  and  deluded,  together  with  the  unprin- 
cipled, blatant,  professional  Irish  patriots. 

Before,  however,  starting  on  my  travels  as  organizer,  I 
had  an  experience  which  went  far  to  justify  all  I  had 
previously  thought  and  heard  as  regards  the  part  played 
by  Andrew  Johnson  in  connection  with  the  first  Canadian 
raid.  I  recall  the  incident  as  important,  as  showing  to 
what  extremes  American  political  exigencies  have  carried 
men  in  catering  for  the  Irish  vote  in  America.  About 
American  politics  generally  I  shall  have  something  to  say 
later  on  ;  but  as  this  matter  fits  in  chronologically  here,  I 
think  it  better  to  deal  with  it  now.  Johnson,  it  must  be 
remembered,  v/as  not  by  any  means  a  man  above  suspi- 
cion. In  1868,  so  great  was  the  disaffection  with  his 
administration  of  the  Presidency,  that  he  was  impeached, 
though  unsuccessfully,  by  the  Senate. 

It  was  in  this  year —  1868  — that,  at  O'Neill's  request, 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  43 

I  accompanied  him  to  the  White  House  to  have  an  inter- 
view with  Johnson.  O'Neill  and  he  had  been  personal 
friends  from  '62,  when  Johnson  had  acted  as  Military 
Governor  in  Tennessee.  The  precise  object  of  our  visit 
was  the  securing  of  Johnson's  influence  in  the  return  of 
the  arms  to  the  Fenian  Brotherhood,  previously  seized  by 
the  American  Government.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
I  mentioned,  some  pages  back,  that  every  gun  taken  by 
the  United  States  Government,  after  the  first  raid  in 
1866,  was  returned  to  the  Fenian  organization  by  this 
government  under  a  promise,  only  made  to  be  broken, 
that  they  should  not  be  used  in  any  unlawful  enterprise  ; 
and  in  consideration  of  certain  worthless  bonds. 

Our  reception  at  the  White  House  was  a  cordial  one, 
O'Neill's  distinctly  so.  During  the  conversation  the 
President  used  some  remarkable  words.  So  strange  did 
they  sound  in  my  ears,  that  they  impressed  themselves 
upon  my  memory,  and  are  even  now  fresh  in  my  recol- 
lection. 

''General,"  said  Johnson,  addressing  O'Neill,  "your 
people  unfairly  blame  me  a  good  deal  for  the  part  I  took 
in  stopping  your  first  movement.  Now  I  want  you  to 
understand  that  my  sympathies  are  entirely  with  you,  and 
anything  which  lies  in  my  power  I  am  willing  to  do  to 
assist  you.  But  you  must  remember  that  I  gave  you  five 
full  days  before  issuing  any  proclamation  stopping  you. 
What,  in  God's  name,  more  did  you  want }  If  you  could 
not  get  there  in  five  days,  by  .  .  .  God,  you  could  never 
get  there  ;  and  then,  as  President,  I  was  compelled  to 
enforce  the  Neutrality  Laws,  or  be  denounced  on  every 
side." 

Such  was  the  language  used,  such  the  position  assumed, 
and  such  the  apology  tendered  to  the  Fenian  leader  of 


44  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

1868  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  Government. 
Can  any  comment  of  mine  point  the  moral  and  adorn  the 
tale  of  all  this  better  than  the  incident  itself  can  do  when 
left  in  its  naked  and  startling  significance  ?     I  think  not. 


X. 

I  ENTERED  with  a  will  upon  my  duties  as  travelling 
organizer,  and  was  alike  successful  in  winning  the  confi- 
dence of  almost  every  Fenian  with  whom  I  was  brought 
into  contact,  and  in  obtaining  the  most  important  infor- 
mation and  details  for  the  Home  Government.  Matters 
had  meantime  proceeded  apace,  so  that  when  the  Philadel- 
phia Convention  of  1868  was  held,  O'Neill's  determination 
to  invade  Canada  a  second  time  was  ratified  without  a  dis- 
sentient voice.  I  was  now  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Inspector-General,  and  was  from  time  to  time  sent  along 
the  Canadian  border  to  locate  the  arms  and  ammunition. 
The  situation  was  becoming  critical  where  British  inter- 
ests were  concerned ;  and,  in  order  to  grapple  with  the 
pressure  of  the  moment,  I  was  placed  in  direct  communi- 
cation with  Lord  Monck,  then  Governor-General  of 
Canada.  I  paid  a  visit  to  Ottawa,  and  when  there, 
planned  a  system  of  daily  communication  with  the  Chief 
Commissioner  of  Police  in  Canada,  Judge  J.  G.  M'Micken, 
with  whom,  from  this  date  to  the  total  disruption  of  the 
Fenian  organization  in  1870,  I  acted  in  concert  and  in 
the  most  perfect  harmony. 

I  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  the  treatment  I  received 
at  Judge  M'Micken's  hands.  Comparatively  young  in 
years  as  I  was  then,  distinctly  youthful  in  secret  service 
experience,  I  found  him   ever  ready  and  willing  to  help 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  45 

me,  meeting  me  at  a  moment's  notice,  placing  everything 
at  my  disposal,  and  watching  over  my  safety  and  my  in- 
terests with  a  fatherly  care  which  I  shall  ever  recall  with 
thoughts  of  the  keenest  appreciation.  Equally  pleasant 
and  agreeable  was  my  connection  with  the  Home  Gov- 
ernment. Many  changes  had  taken  place  since  my  visit 
to  England,  and  those  with  whom  I  had  first  had  com- 
munication had  disappeared  from  this  work  to  give  place 
to  Mr.  Anderson,  with  whom  alone  I  had  to  deal  from 
this  time  forward.  I  shall  have  a  good  deal  to  say  about 
Mr.  Anderson  further  on,  and  therefore  I  shall  only  delay 
here  to  repeat  what  I  have  said  above,  that  with  England 
as  with  Canada  my  connection  was  of  the  most  satisfac- 
tory and  pleasant  character. 


XL 

It  was  during  the  autumn  of  1868  that,  in  the  course 
of  my  travels  on  behalf  of  the  organization,  I  first  meet 
Alexander  Sullivan.  Alexander  Sullivan  is  a  well-known 
man  to-day,  but  if  by  any  chance  his  identity  has  to  be 
marked,  little  else  need  be  mentioned  beyond  the  words, 
"The  Cronin  affair."  He  was  a  young  man  then,  but 
then  as  now  he  was  the  same  Alexander  Sullivan,  clever, 
unscrupulous,  careful  only  of  himself,  subordinating  every- 
thing to  his  personal  ambition,  using  Irish  politics  as  a 
stepping-stone  to  advancement  in  American  affairs,  and 
reckless  who  or  what  suffered  if  but  he  did  succeed. 

The  "  Arch  Fiend  "  of  Irish  American  politics,  as  he 
has  been  dubbed,  and  the  alleged  chief  conspirator 
in  the  brutal  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin,  is  no  ordinary  man  ; 
he  is  an  individual  with  a  history,  and  that  not  by  any 


46  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

means  a  creditable  one.  The  son  of  a  British  pensioner, 
born  in  Canada  some  forty-five  years  ago,  he  left  that 
country  under  a  cloud,  and  settled  down  in  Detroit,  where 
he  started  a  boot-and-shoe  store  in  the  Bresler  Block, 
Michigan  Avenue.  On  the  night  of  the  I2th  May  1868 
a  fire  totally  destroyed  his  shop  and  its  contents.  The 
occurrence  had  its  suspicious  features,  and  Sullivan  was 
arrested  on  a  charge  of  arson.  Although  the  over-insur- 
ance of  his  goods  and  other  questionable  proceedings  were 
proved  at  the  trial,  he  gained  his  liberty  through  an  alibi, 
sustained  by  the  evidence  of  Margaret  Buchanan,  a 
teacher  in  the  public  school  of  Detroit,  who  afterwards 
became  his  wife.  A  man,  as  I  have  said,  of  stirring  ambi- 
tion, he  had  from  the  outset  of  his  career  in  Detroit  taken 
a  prominent  part  in  political  affairs,  and  his  status  as  an 
Irish  leader  (he  was  then  a  State  '*  Centre  "  for  Michigan) 
lent  his  position  and  views  a  certain  importance.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  then  pending  national  cam- 
paign upon  the  side  and  in  the  interests  of  General  Grant 
and  Schuyler  Colfax,  who  in  that  year  were  nominated  as 
the  respective  Republican  candidates  for  President  and 
Vice-President  of  the  republic. 

It  was  at  this  time4:hat  Sullivan  commenced  his  politi- 
cal tricks  in  the  manipulation  of  the  Irish  vote  in  American 
party  interests,  and  it  was  in  consequence  of  his  action  in 
this  respect  that  I  was  first  brought  into  contact  with  him. 
Previous  to  this  date,  the  Irish  vote  had  been  almost  ex- 
clusively Democratic  ;  but,  from  the  loud  and  frequent 
complaints  which  reached  headquarters,  Sullivan  was  found 
to  be  using  his  influence  in  the  organization  for  political 
purposes,  and  seeking  to  bring  about  a  change  of  policy 
in  the  organization  itself,  which  threatened  a  serious 
schism  amongst  our  members. 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  4/ 

I  was  despatched  by  the  President  to  Detroit  in  order 
to  investigate  the  c:isc,  and  if  possible  settle  the  difficulty. 
I  found  ample  proof  of  Sullivan's  guilt  of  the  charges 
alleged  against  him,  and,  after  repeated  interviews  between 
us,  he  agreed  that  the  best  thing  he  could  do  would  be  to 
hand  in  his  resignation  as  State  "  Centre  "  of  the  Brother- 
hood, which  he  accordingly  did.  My  intercourse  with  him 
at  this  time  left  no  doubt  on  my  mind  as  to  his  great  abil- 
ity. His  line  of  defence  was  an  exceedingly  clever  one, 
and  is  well  worth  recording  here,  as  showing  how  in  these 
early  days  Sullivan  had  carefully  mapped  out  his  policy  in 
regard  to  Irish  affairs,  and  their  connection  with  Ameri- 
can matters.  He  contended  that,  in  all  he  had  done,  he 
had  had  the  best  interests  of  Ireland  at  heart.  He  did 
not,  he  said,  consider  that  the  Irish  people  in  America  had 
ever  occupied  the  position  in  the  body  politic  to  which 
they  were  fairly  entitled.  The  Irish  vote,  argued  he,  had 
been  hitherto  solidly  cast  for  the  Democratic  party.  Only 
a  division  of  that  vote  would  cause  them  to  be  a  potent 
power  in  poHtics.  With  that  position  and  influence  to 
which  they  were  entitled  assured  to  them,  they  could  make 
terms  with  the  American  Government  for  the  cause  of 
Ireland. 

The  history  of  the  past  twenty  years  shows  how  clev- 
erly Sullivan  worked  out  these  views  of  his,  and  gained 
acceptance  for  them  at  the  hands  of  his  fellow-patriots. 
The  pity  of  it  is,  however,  that  in  the  result  Ireland  has 
gained  not  at  all,  while  Irish  patriots  like  Sullivan  and 
Egan  have  filled  their  pockets  and  reaped  their  harvests 
in  Chili  and  elsewhere. 

Sullivan's  immediate  reward  was  his  appointment  as 
United  States  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  at  Santa  Fe, 
New  Mexico.     His  resignation  of  his  official  position  in 


48  TWENTY-FJVE    YEARS 

the  Brotherhood  had  come  too  late  ;  his  work  bore  fruit 
in  the  Presidential  election,  the  vote  was  split,  and  so  he 
earned  his  wage.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  this  was  the 
first  time  the  Irish  vote  was  split,  and  that  Sullivan  was 
the  primary  cause  of  it.  Ever  since  the  vote  has  so 
remained,  to  the  advantage  of  the  Irish  leaders  of  both 
sides,  who,  in  the  scramble  for  office,  barter  the  adhesion 
of  their  followers  in  the  public  market-place. 

Santa  Fe,  however,  did  not  hold  Sullivan  long.  His 
shady  methods  compelled  him  to  make  an  inglorious  exit ; 
and  so  he  was  to  be  found  in  the  year  1873  working  with 
his  wife,  7iee  Buchanan,  in  a  reporting  capacity  on  Chicago 
newspapers. 

Here  for  the  present,  however,  I  must  leave  Sullivan.  I 
have  dealt  thus  fully  with  the  man  at  this  early  stage, 
because  of  the  strange  influence  he  from  this  time  forth 
wielded  over  Irish  politics  in  America ;  and  in  order  to 
properly  represent  his  character,  I  have  somewhat  antici- 
pated events  in  his  life  which  are  far  ahead  of  the  time 
with  which  I  am  at  present  dealing.  I  have  done  so  ad- 
visedly, for  Sullivan  will  play  a  large  part  in  the  chapters 
to  which  I  must  now  proceed.  Where  his  personalityvvill 
not  thrust  itself  upon  the  scene,  his  shadow  will  darken 
every  act  and  incident.  From  this  time  onward,  for  a 
period  of  twenty  years,  I  used  the  man  as  my  dupe.  Feed- 
ing his  vanity,  assisting  his  ambition,  helping  him  in  the 
hundred  and  one  ways  in  which  it  was  possible  for  me  to 
do,  I  gained  his  friendship  and  his  confidence  to  such  an 
extent,  that  no  man  in  the  whole  course  of  my  career  in 
the  secret  service  proved  a  more  valuable,  albeit  an  uncon- 
scious, ally  than  he. 


IN    THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


49 


XII. 


Before  continuing  my  narrative,  I  will  stop  to  relate 
one  of  the  few  cases  in  which  I  was  forced  into  a  very 
narrow  place,  and  faced  with  the  near  possibility  of  com- 
plete exposure.  The  incident  is  useful  as  illustrating  the 
dangers  by  which  I  was  surrounded,  and  the  requirements 
of  the  position  in  which  I  was  placed.  At  a  council  of 
war  held  in  Troy  House,  Troy,  New  York,  in  the  month 
of  November  1868,  I  came  in  contact  with  John  Roche, 
well  known  as  one  of  the  shining  lights  of  Irish  nationality 
in  that  city.  Roche  was  one  of  these  hypercritical  and 
over-suspicious  individuals  who  were  constantly  recogniz- 
ing British  detectives  in  every  stranger  whom  they  met. 
He  had  been,  I  discovered,  originally  a  resident  of 
Montreal,  and  as  I  had  been  instructed  by  O'Neill  to  visit 
and  study  the  enemy's  country,  I  indicated  to  Roche  my 
desire  of  ascertaining  the  names  of  a  few  reliable  brothers 
whom  I  could  visit.  The  truth  was  that  the  Canadian 
Government  were  at  this  time  particularly  anxious  to  find 
out  the  extent  of  the  organization  which  they  knew  existed 
in  several  of  their  large  cities,  notably  Montreal,  Kings- 
ton, and  Toronto  ;  and  I  thought  this  a  good  opportunity 
of  getting  some  useful  hints. 

Roche  furnished  me  with  the  names  of  several  leadins: 
members.  Unluckily  for  me,  I  foolishly  wrote  the  partic- 
ulars down  in  a  note-book  in  his  presence.  The  act,  in  his 
opinion,  was  a  suspicious  one.  He  watched  me  closely, 
and  evidently  conceived  the  idea  that  my  patriotism  was  of 
a  very  incautious  character,  if  not  worse.     On  the  eighth 


50 


TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


of  the  following  month,  at  the  Annual  Convention  held  in 
the  Masonic  Hall,  Philadelphia,  to  which  he  was  a  delegate, 
I  found  his  suspicions  solidified  in  the  form  of  a  set  of 
charges  against  me,  imputing  carelessness,  dangerous  con- 
duct, and  suspicious  acts.  My  friends,  and  they  were 
legion,  together  with  myself,  indignantly  denied  the  alle- 
gations, and  virtuously  demanded  an  inquiry,  which  was 
granted,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  lay  the  charges. 
Roche  was  duly  heard,  injured  innocence  was  largely  en 
evidence  on  my  part,  and  very  quickly  a  unanimous  verdict 
was  reported  back  to  the  Convention,  asserting  that  the 
charges  were  scandalous  and  without  the  slightest  founda- 
tion, it  being  fully  demonstrated  by  the  following  letter 
that  I  was  authorized  to  visit  and  acquaint  myself  with 
the  other  side,  as  I  represented  to  Roche  :  — 

"  Headquarters  Fenian  Brotherhood, 
"No.  lo  West  Fourth  Street, 

"New  York,  October  23,  1868. 
"P.  O.  Box  5141. 

"Lieut. -Col.  Henry  Le  Caron,  A.A.G.,  F.B., 
"Care  of  Capt.  T.  O'Hagan, 
"  Ogdensburg,  N.Y. 

"•Dear  Sir  and  Brother, — Yours  of  the  20th  and  21st  came  duly  to 
hand  and  are  perfectly  satisfactory. 

"I  think  it  better  not  commence  equalizing  goods  just  yet;  I  will  write 
you  again  on  the  matter. 

"  It  would  be  highly  beneficial  to  us  for  you  to  avail  yourself  of  every 
opportunity  to  study  the  country  on  both  sides  of  the  line  for  future  emer- 
gencies. 

"  Everything  here  is  going  on  satisfactorily. 

"  Yours  fraternally, 

"John  O'Neill, 
''  Pres.  F.Br 

I  did  not,  however,  deem  it  prudent  to  let  matters  rest 
even  here,  feeling  that  my  ultimate  success  in  the  interests 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  5  I 

of  the  Government  depended  upon  absolute  confidence  on 
the  part  of  the  ruling  powers.  Accordingly  I  sat  down 
and  immediately  wrote  out  my  resignation  as  an  officer  of 
the  Irish  Republican  Army,  giving  this  want  of  confidence 
as  my  reason,  and  couching  my  letter  in  indignant  terms. 
As  I  hoped  and  anticipated,  my  letter  brought  the  follow- 
ing welcome  response,  which  placed  me  on  a  surer  footing 
than  ever,  and  brought  me  into  even  more  confidential 
relations  with  the  head  of  the  organization  than  I  had 
hitherto  enjoyed  :  — 

"War  Department,  Fenian  Brotherhood, 
"No.  10  West  Fourth  Street, 
"  P.  O.  Box  5141,  "  New  York,  Dece?nber  29,  1868. 

"  Major  H.  Le  Caron, 
"  Box  1004, 

"  Chicago,  111. 
"Major, — Your  letter  tendering  your  resignation  as  an  officer  of  the 
I.  R,  A.  came  duly  to  hand,  but  I  delayed  answering  until  such  time  as  I  could 
submit  it  to  the  President,  who  was  out  of  town,  as  without  his  instructions  I 
could  give  you  nothing  definite  in  reply.  He  now  directs  me  to  say  that  it  is 
his  wish  you  should  remain  an  officer  of  the  organization,  and  that  if  you 
require  a  leave  of  absence  for  a  month  or  more,  you  can  have  it.  He  further 
says  he  hopes  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  opportunity  you  refer  to  may  be 
granted.  Your  services  have  been  thoroughly  appreciated  both  by  him  and 
the  officials  of  both  Departments,  civil  and  military,  therefore  you  should  not 
notice  the  innuendoes  or  taunts  of  parties  who  cannot  value  your  services.  If 
the  officers  of  the  organization  who  have  been  vilified  and  calumniated  were  to 
resign  on  that  account,  some  of  its  best  officers  would  not  now  be  at  their 
post.  The  'Patriot's  meed  is  bitter;'  they  must  bear  with  much,  even  from 
those  who  should  be  the  first  to  defend  and  sustain  them. 

"  Personally,  I  would  advise  you  to  act  on  the  suggestions  of  the  President, 
and  hope  you  will. 

"  The  President  will  write  you  in  a  few  days.  Whatever  course  you  may 
decide  upon  pursuing  in  this  matter,  you  shall  always  carry  with  you  the 
best  wishes  of 

"  Your  friend  and  brother, 

"J.  Whitehead  Byron, 

"  Col.  a^  A.A.G.,  f.b:' 


52 


TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


I  got  thus  safely  out  of  my  awkward  position,  and  learnt 
one  good  lesson.     I  never  kept  a  pocket-book  again. 


XIII. 

The  Annual  Convention  to  which  I  have  made  reference 
in  connection  with  the  Roche  incident  took  place  in  Phila- 
delphia, "the  city  of  brotherly  love,"  in  the  month  of 
December  1868.  It  was  made  the  occasion  of  an  immense 
demonstration,  no  less  than  6,000  armed  and  uniformed 
Fenian  soldiers  parading  the  streets.  The  convention 
itself  was  numerically  a  large  one,  and  was  attended  by 
over  400  properly  qualified  delegates.  The  proceedings 
were  of  the  usual  kind.  Brag  and  bluster  were  the  order 
of  the  day.  The  determination  to  invade  Canada  once 
more  was  still  upheld  by  the  vote  of  the  assembly,  and  the 
position  of  O'Neill  and  his  colleagues  was  as  fixed  and 
satisfactory  as  ever  —  that  of  myself,  of  course,  being 
included  in  this  reference. 

The  report  of  the  envoy  to  the  sister  organization  in 
Ireland — Daniel  Sullivan,  Secretary  of  Civil  Affairs  — 
was  an  interesting  document,  and  contained  full  details 
of  the  Clerkenwell  Explosion  of  the  previous  year.  This 
v/as  the  attempt  to  blow  up  Clerkenwell  Prison  which 
Mr.  Parnell  subsequently  described  in  reply  to  Mr.  Glad- 
stone—  the  old  Mr.  Gladstone,  I  mean,  not  the  new  one 
—  as  "a  practical  joke."  It  was,  however,  as  we  in  Phila- 
delphia were  to  learn,  anything  but  a  practical  joke.  It 
was  rather  as  cool  and  carefully  planned  a  scheme  as  ever 
Fenianism  indulged  in  to  spite  the  British  Government. 
If  the  attempt  failed  to  accomplish  all  that  was  expected 
of  it,  it  was  yet  very  fruitful  in  drawing  from  Mr.  Gladstone 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  53 

a  confession  about  its  effect  being  "to  bring  the  Irish 
question  within  the  range  of  practical  politics,"  which  has 
ever  since  proved  the  most  effective  and  popular  argument 
advanced  on  behalf  of  dynamite  in  the  United  States. 

About  this  time,  John  Boyle  O'Reilly,  a  very  well-known 
Irishman,  late  editor  of  the  Boston  Pilot,  a  poet  and  nov- 
elist, and  author  of  a  delightfully  written  novel,  "Moon- 
dyne,"  the  material  for  which  was  obtained  during  his 
confinement  in  Australia  as  a  Fenian  prisoner,  first  arrived 
in  New  York,  having  succeeded  in  making  his  escape  from 
the  convict  settlement  at  Freemantle.  With  his  appear- 
ance came  the  idea  of  rescuing  his  fellow-prisoners.  The 
proposal,  first  mooted  in  uncertainty,  was  eventually  taken 
up  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm,  and  carried  to  a  most 
successful  conclusion.  For  the  purpose  a  whaler  was 
chartered  by  the  organization  and  fitted  out  at  New  Bed- 
ford, Massachusetts,  with  the  ostensible  object  of  whaling 
in  the  South  Seas,  but,  in  reality,  for  bringing  the  convicts 
off  from  Australia.  The  boat  was  partially  manned  by 
trusted  men  of  the  organization,  though,  to  keep  up  the 
deception,  a  certain  number  of  well-known  whalers'  men 
went  to  make  up  the  crew.  On  arrival  at  Australia,  some 
of  the  most  trusted  Fenians  were  landed  with  instructions 
to  open  up  communication  with  the  convicts,  while  the 
vessel  cruised  about  on  the  high  seas.  It  was  not  antici- 
pated that  the  task  set  the  men  left  on  shore  would  be  a 
difficult  one,  because  the  convicts  were  hired  out  as 
laborers  during  the  day,  and  communication  with  them 
was  not  by  any  means  a  trying  matter.  As  affairs  turned 
out,  it  was  quite  easy.  The  men  from  the  whaler,  however, 
had  not  been  landed  more  than  a  day  or  two,  when  they 
found  that  they  were  not  the  only  persons  arranging  the 
convicts'  rescue.     Two  men  —  McCarthy  and  Gray  —  were 


54  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

already  at  work  in  this  direction,  having  been  sent  out  by 
the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood  in  Ireland, 
at  the  instigation,  as  he  claimed  to  me  subsequently,  of 
Patrick  Egan.  M'Carthy  and  Gray  had,  it  appeared, 
already  established  communications  with  the  convicts  ; 
and  so,  in  order  to  expedite  matters,  the  two  sections  of 
rescuers  joined  forces.  On  a  given  day,  the  plot  was 
carried  to  a  successful  termination,  and  the  rescued  men 
were  placed  on  board  the  whaler,  which  immediately  set 
out  for  the  States.  Although  an  armed  cruiser  was 
immediately  despatched  to  stop  it,  and  some  firing  took 
place,  the  whaler  succeeded  in  getting  out  of  Australian 
waters  and  on  the  high  seas  in  safety. 


XIV. 

The  year  1869  saw  O'Neill  still  at  the  helm  of  Fenian 
affairs,  and  large  sums  of  money  rolling  into  the  coffers 
of  the  organization  ;  although,  as  always  the  case  with 
Irish  movements,  dissensions  reigned  within  the  ranks. 
The  Stephens  section,  now  presided  over  by  John  Savage, 
who  had  succeeded  John  O'Mahony,  was  constantly  at- 
tacking the  Senate  wing,  and  many  and  bitter  were  the 
feuds  which  raged.  In  my  position  as  Inspector-General 
of  the  Irish  Republican  Army,  I  was  fully  engaged  in  my 
old  work  of  inspecting  the  companies,  and  directing  the 
location  of  arms  along  the  Canadian  country  for  coming 
active  operations.  In  this  way  I  distributed  fifteen  thou- 
sand stands-of-arms  and  almost  three  million  rounds  of 
ammunition  in  the  care  of  the  many  trusted  men  stationed 
between  Ogdensburg  and  St.  Albans.  Some  thousands 
of  these  guns   were  breech-loaders,  which  had  been  re- 


IN   THE   SECRET  SERVICE.  55 

modelled  from  United  States  Government  "  Springfields  " 
at  the  arms  factory,  leased  and  ''  run  "  by  the  organization 
at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  The  depot  from  which  the  bulk 
were  packed  and  shipped  was  '' Quinn  &  Nolan's"  of 
Albany.  Quinn  was  a  United  States  Congressman  and 
Senator  of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood ;  and  Nolan,  that  very 
Mayor  Nolan  so  prominently  mentioned  by  Mr.  Parnell 
in  his  evidence  as  one  of  the  eminently  conservative  (!) 
gentlemen  who  received  him  in  America.  Constantly  the 
recipient  of  compliments  for  the  admirable  way  in  which 
I  discharged  my  duty,  I  was  now  promoted  to  the  office 
of  Assistant  Adjutant-General,  with  the  rank  of  Colonel ; 
and  my  new  position  enabled  me  not  only  to  become  pos- 
sessed of  the  originals  of  every  document,  plan  of  pro- 
posed campaign,  etc.,  but  also  specimens  of  the  Fenian 
army  commissions  and  uniforms  of  the  time,  which  of 
course  I  conveyed  to  the  officials  of  the  Canadian  Gov- 
ernment. 

Successful  as  I  was  in  evading  detection  through  all 
this  work,  those  assisting  me  in  my  secret  service  capa- 
city were  not  always  destined  to  share  in  my  good  luck. 
This  was  particularly  the  case  on  one  occasion.  I  was  at 
the  time  shipping  arms  at  Malone,  N.Y.,  and  attended, 
on  behalf  of  the  Canadian  Government,  by  one  of  the 
staff  of  men  placed  at  my  disposal  for  the  purposes  of 
immediate  communication  and  the  transit  of  any  docu- 
ments requiring  secrecy  and  despatch,  as  well  as  for  per- 
sonal protection,  should  such  prove  necessary.  This  man, 
John  C.  Rose,  was  one  of  the  most  faithful  and  trusted 
servants  of  the  Canadian  administration,  and  for  months 
he  followed  me  along  the  whole  border.  Though  stop- 
ping at  the  same  hotels,  and  in  constant  communication 
with  me,  no  suspicion  was  aroused,  until  his  identity  was 


56  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

disclosed  by  a  visitor  from  the  seat  of  Government  at 
Ottawa  to  G.  J.  Mannix,  the  head-centre  of  that  Gibraltar 
of  Fenianism,  Malone.  Men  were  immediately  set  to 
watch  him  without  my  knowledge,  and  the  fact  of  his 
being  found  always  in  my  wake  on  my  visits  to  and  return 
from  several  towns  led  to  the  belief  that  he  was  spying 
upon  my  actions.  A  few  nights  after  this  belief  had  been 
formed,  poor  Rose,  on  his  return  from  sending  a  despatch 
from  the  post-office,  was  waylaid,  robbed,  and  brutally 
beaten,  and  subsequently  brought  back  to  the  hotel  in  as 
sorry  a  plight  as  I  ever  saw.  I  was  immediately  advised 
by  my  Fenian  friends  as  to  the  dangerous  character  of 
this  mutual  enemy  of  ours,  as  he  was  termed  ;  and  though 
shocked  and  embittered  by  the  treatment  accorded  to 
the  poor  devoted  fellow,  I  had,  for  political  reasons,  to 
applaud  their  cowardly  assault,  and  to  denounce  my  brave 
friend,  who  was  bearing  all  his  sufferings  in  silence  and 
with  a  splendid  spirit.  For  months  poor  Rose  was  quite 
prostrated,  and  through  this  act  of  my  brother  Fenians, 
I  was  deprived  of  the  services  and  co-operation  of  as 
faithful  and  capable  an  ally  as  ever  was  given  me. 

In  the  winter  of  1869,  the  Fenian  Senate  announced 
the  completion  of  the  arrangements  for  the  invasion ; 
and  in  the  month  of  December  the  Ninth  Annual  Con- 
vention was  called  in  New  York.  In  connection  with 
this  convention,  I  was  called  upon  to  perform  a  little  act 
which  served  to  more  closely  knit  the  bonds  of  friendship 
between  O'Neill  and  myself,  and,  if  possible,  to  obtain  for 
me  an  even  larger  share  of  his  confidence  than  I  had  hith- 
erto enjoyed.  O'Neill,  as  was  customary  in  Irish  revolu- 
tionary circles,  had,  in  his  capacity  of  leader,  been  making 
free  with  the  funds  of  the  organization.  In  a  word,  he 
had  been  spending  for  personal  purposes  moneys  received 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  57 

from  the  circles  or  camps.  Professor  Brophy,  the  Treas- 
urer, one  of  the  few  honest  dekided  Irish  patriots  of  the 
time,  refused  to  cook  the  accounts  in  order  to  cover  the 
President's  delinquencies.  The  books  had  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  Convention,  and  O'Neill  was  in  a  frightful 
difficulty.  In  his  embarrassment  he  came  to  me,  and,  to 
my  surprise,  made  a  clean  breast  of  the  whole  matter. 
The  opportunity  was  too  good  a  one  to  be  lost.  I  ad- 
vanced the  money,  and  took  his  note  of  hand,  thus  saving 
his  reputation  before  the  Convention. 

Need  I  say  that  money  was  never  repaid  me.  Surely 
not  !  The  only  memento  which  I  have  of  my  dollars  is 
O'Neill's  note  of  hand,  which,  as  a  curiosity,  I  have  pre- 
served to  this  date.  It  is  certainly  an  interesting  docu- 
ment, so  I  give  it  here. 

*'  New  York,  April  19,  1870. 
*'  $364  41-100. 

*'  Received  from  Colonel  H.  le  Caron,  three  hundred  and  sixty-four  dollars 
and  41-100,  borrowed  money,  to  be  returned  whenever  demanded. 

"John  O'Neil, 
'' Pres,  F,B:' 

A  council  of  war  followed,  and  all  was  now  activity. 
In  view  of  active  operations  in  Canada,  all  moneys  were 
called  in,  and  orders  were  issued  from  headquarters  to 
have  in  readiness  all  the  military  organizations.  The 
final  order  was  issued  in  April  as  follows:  — 

'*  Headquarters  Fenian  Brotherhood, 
"No.  10  West  Fourth  Street, 

"New  York,  February  10,  1870. 
"P.  O.  Box  5141. 

"  To  the  Military  Officers  of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood. 

"  Brothers,  —  You  have,  no  doubt,  ere  this  received  general  orders  No. 
I  from  General  Michael  Kerwin,  Secretary  of  War,  F.B.  (headquarters,  No. 
50  North  1 2th  Street,  Philadelphia,  Penna).      A  strict  compliance  with  the 


58  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

requirements  thereof  is  hereby  imperatively  demanded.  The  success  or  failure 
of  our  holy  cause  now  depends  upon  the  prompt  and  energetic  performance 
of  the  duties  incumbent  upon  each  and  all  of  us,  and  upon  none  does  the 
responsibility  rest  so  heavily  as  upon  the  military  officers  of  the  F.  B. 

"  Brothers,  if  you  be  so  situated  that  business  or  family  duties  will  prevent 
you  from  getting  your  commands  in  readiness  for  active  and  iraniediate  ser- 
vice^ you  will  please  forward  your  resignations  to  the  Secretary  of  War  at 
once,  and  at  the  same  time  send  on  the  names  of  persons  suitable  to  take  your 
places.  If  you  are  thoroughly  in  earnest,  you  will  not  hesitate  to  give  your 
assistance  to  those  who  may  be  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancies  created  by 
your  voluntary  withdrawal  from  the  positions  to  which  you  have  been  com- 
missioned. 

"Your  duty,  if  circumstances  permit,  will  be  to  get  your  men  in  readiness 
at  the  earliest  practicable  moment.  If  you  should  resign,  this  duty  will 
devolve  upon  your  successors.  If  there  are  any  arms,  ammunition,  or  mili- 
tary clothing  within  your  knowledge  which  can  be  forwarded  to  certain 
points,  to  be  named  hereafter,  so  inform  the  Secretary  of  War,  whom  you 
will  address  in  reply  to  this  circular,  and  he  will,  on  receipt  of  your  com- 
munications, forward  private  instructions  with  regard  to  your  respective 
commands. 

*'  Pay  no  attention  to  what  may  appear  upon  the  surface  or  in  newspapers. 
We  mean  fight  —  speedy  fight  —  and  nothing  else,  thigin  thu  ?  ^ 

"Officers  receiving  copies  of  Military  Oath  with  this  circular  will  sign  the 
same  in  presence  of  witness,  and  return  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 

"Ascertain  and  report  how  many  of  your  men  can  and  will  furnish  their 
own  transportation,  and  in  the  mean  time  try  and  persuade  all  of  them  to  save 
enough  for  that  purpose.  Military  men  should  not  forget  that  the  civic 
circles  have  supplied  the  means  wherewith  to  provide  breech-loaders,  ammu- 
nition, etc.  etc.  Their  liberality  in  these  regards  will,  to  a  limited  extent, 
relieve  them  from  the  responsibility  of  advancing  the  means  of  transporta- 
tion. They  will  not,  however,  hesitate  to  co-operate  with  the  military  branch 
of  the  F.  B.  in  this  matter. 

'■^Preserve  the  titviost  secrecy  with    regard  to  this  circular  and  reply  at 
once.     Delay,  and  you  are  guilty  of  neglect  of  duty ! 
"Yours  fraternally, 

"John  O'Neill, 

"  President  Fenian  Brotherhood^^ 
1  The  Irish  for  "  Do  you  understand  ? " 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  59 


"  Headquarters,  War  Department,  F.B., 
"Deckertown,  Sussex  County,  N  J., 
''April  28,  1870. 
"  General  Orders. 
"No 

"  Commanding  officers  of  regiments,  companies,  and  detachments  will 
hold  their  respective  commands  in  readiness  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice. 

"  Officers  of  circles  having  no  military  organizations  attached  will  immedi- 
ately take  the  necessary  steps  to  organize  the  military  of  their  neighborhoods, 
and  forward  to  this  office  the  names  of  officers  selected,  so  that  they  may  be 
commissioned. 

"Commanding  officers  of  companies  will_^et  as  many  men  as  possible 
ready  to  move  at  once,  leaving  to  the  civic  officers  the  task  of  collecting  and 
forwarding  —  if  possible  within  twenty-four  hours  thereafter  —  those  who 
may  not  be  able  to  move  with  the  first  detachments. 

"Officers  and  men  must  avoid  the  use  of  uniforms  or  any  insignia  that 
would  distinguish  them. 

"Officers  must  not  be  recognized  by  military  titles,  and  officers  or  men 
must  not  speak  of  Fenian  matters  while  en  route. 

"  Take  no  man  who  is  a  loafer  or  a  habitual  drunkard. 

"Take  no  man  who  has  not  seen  service,  or  who  has  not  sufficient  charac- 
ter to  insure  his  good  behavior  en  route  and  in  presence  of  the  enemy. 

"Any  arms,  uniforms,  or  war  material  remaining  in  the  hands  of  circles 
must  be  immediately  packed  and  forwarded  to  the  points  designated  in 
circular  of  February  19,  1870. 

"Hold  no  communications  with  any  person  not  authorized  from  these 
headquarters.  All  letters  relating  to  military  matters  must  be  addressed  to 
M.  Kerwin,  Deckertown,  Sussex  County,  New  Jersey. 

"  Let  no  consideration  prevent  a  prompt  compliance  with  this  order. 

"  M.  Kerwin, 
"  Brig.-Ge7i.  and  Sec.  of  War. 

"  Approved, 

"John  O'Neill, 
"  President  Fenian  Brotherhood. 
"  H.  le  Caron, 

"  Col.  and  Adj .-General P 


6o  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


XV. 

At  this  time  I  was  out  West,  and  receiving  a  telegram 
from  O'Neill,  directing  me  to  meet  him  in  Buffalo,  I  hur- 
ried thither  without  delay.  I  reached  that  city  only  to 
find  that  O'Neill  had  ordered  an  immediate  movement  on 
Canada,  and  that,  as  he  phrased  it,  ''  no  power  on  earth 
could  stop  it."  This  condition  of  things  startled  and  sur- 
prised me.  His  determination  in  the  way  of  immediate 
action  was  opposed  to  the  decision  of  the  last  council  of 
war,  and  my  chiefs  in  Canada  would,  I  feared,  be  quite 
unprepared.  I  at  once  telegraphed  the  authorities  at 
Ottawa,  and  was  soon  in  personal  communication  with 
their  trusted  agents  in  Buffalo.  Fortunately,  as  matters 
turned  out,  the  plan  of  action  was  the  same  as  decided 
upon  at  the  last  council  of  war,  the  full  details  of  which 
the  authorities  possessed  ;  and  so  the  situation  was  not 
so  complex  as  I  had  at  first  feared. 

The  next  few  days  were  busy  ones.  All  military  com- 
manders were  ordered  to  report  at  given  points  with  their 
commands  ;  instructions  were  issued  for  the  placement  of 
arms  by  the  following  Tuesday,  at  rendezvous  near  the 
line  at  Franklin  and  Malone,  and  I  was  appointed  Adju- 
tant-General with  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General.  We  had 
quick  promotion  and  brave  ranks  in  the  Fenian  army! 

On  Saturday,  April  22,  1870,  O'Neill  and  I  left  Buffalo 
for  St.  Albans,  he  full  of  enthusiasm  and  the  belief  that 
the  Canadians  would  be  taken  entirely  by  surprise,  I 
laughing  to  myself  at  his  coming  discomfiture.  We  ar- 
rived at   Milton,  Vermont,   at  daylight  on  the  following 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  6 1 

morning,  to  find  that  everything  was  proceeding  most 
satisfactorily.  Prompt  action  had  been  taken  by  those 
in  charge  of  the  munitions  of  war,  and  by  the  following 
Tuesday  morning  sufficient  war  material  for  our  army  was 
ready  at  the  appointed  places. 

This  second  and  last  invasion  of  Canada  differed  in 
many  respects  from  that  of  1866.  Then  the  raid  was 
loudly  advertised  for  months  before  it  actually  took  place. 
This  time  everything  was  different.  Secrecy  (as  it  was 
supposed)  covered  every  move  and  intention.  Had  not 
the  Canadian  authorities  been  fully  advised,  the  results, 
under  the  circumstances,  would  have  been  undoubtedly 
serious.  There  was  another  important  feature  about  this 
second  raid,  and  that  was  its  preparedness.  Matters  in 
connection  with  the  first  affair  had  been  of  a  very  happy- 
go-lucky  character.  Now  the  services  of  a  number  of 
ex-military  men  of  undoubted  ability  had  been  secured, 
and  war  material  for  at  least  twelve  thousand  men  was 
actually  on  the  ground. 

O'Neill's  ideas  may  be  set  forth  in  very  few  words. 
The  chief  object  he  had  in  viev/  was  to  obtain  possession 
of  Canada,  not  as  the  permanent  seat  of  an  Irish  Repub- 
lic, but  as  the  only  vulnerable  point  of  attack — the  base 
for  operations  against  England.  His  theory  was  that  the 
Fenians  needed  the  ports  and  shipyards  of  the  Dominion 
from  which  they  could  despatch  privateers  to  prey  upon 
English  shipping.  By  the  possession  of  territory  he 
anticipated  they  could  claim  and  obtain  the  rights  of 
belligerents  from  the  United  States.  In  this  event  he 
held  the  promise  of  many  men,  eminent  on  the  side  of 
both  North  and  South  during  the  war  of  Rebellion,  to 
enroll  themselves  under  the  Irish  banner,  and  to  com- 
mand expeditions  which  it  was  fondly  hoped  and  expected 
would  wrest  Ireland  from  the  hands  of  the  oppressor. 


62  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

His  plan  was  to  get  across  the  boundary  line  without 
delay,  and  then  to  intrench  himself  at  a  point  where  his 
small  contingent  would  form  the  nucleus  round  which  a 
large  army  and  unlimited  support  would  rally  from  the 
United  States.  Buffalo,  Malone,  and  Franklin  were  the 
three  points  from  which  attacks  were  to  be  made.  How- 
ever, '*  the  best  laid  schemes  of  mice  and  men  gang 
aft  aglee."  O'Neill  expected  i,ooo  men  to  meet  him  at 
Franklin  on  the  night  of  Tuesday,  April  25,  1870.  The 
history  of  1866  repeated  itself.  As  was  the  case  then,  so 
now,  only  a  quarter  of  the  number  presented  themselves. 
By  the  following  morning  only  500  had  mustered.  Every 
hour's  delay  added  to  the  danger  of  failure  and  collapse  ; 
and  so  he  feared  to  postpone  the  arrangements  any 
longer.  I  viewed  the  situation  with  a  good  deal  of  equa- 
nimity, for  on  the  previous  night  all  my  trusty  messen- 
gers had  departed,  carrying  full  details  as  to  the  time, 
exact  points  of  crossing,  numbers,  place  of  operations, 
etc.,  to  the  enemy's  lines. 

At  eleven  o'clock  on  Wednesday,  O'Neill  left  the 
Franklin  Hotel  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
Fenian  army,  not  without  hope  and  confidence,  yet 
struggling  with  the  disappointing  fact  that  one-half  his 
men  had  not  arrived.  His  chief  anxiety  appeared  to  be 
that  the  Canadians  would  not  give  him  a  chance  to  fight. 
He  misapprehended  the  situation  on  this  score,  however, 
as  subsequent  events  showed. 

Hubbard's  Farm,  the  Fenian  camp  and  rendezvous, 
was  situated  about  half  a  mile  from  Franklin,  and  here 
all  the  available  ''invaders"  were  mustered.  Arrano-ino: 
them  in  line,  O'Neill  addressed  them  as  follows  :  — 

"Soldiers,  this  is  the  advance-guard  of  the  Irish-Ameri- 
can army  for  the  liberation  of    Ireland  from  the  yoke  of 


IN    THE   SECRET  SERVICE.  63 

the  oppressor.  For  your  own  country  you  enter  that  of 
the  enemy.  The  eyes  of  your  countrymen  are  upon  you. 
Forward.     March." 

And  march  they  did,  O'Neill,  as  he  departed  at  their 
head,  instructing  me  to  bring  to  his  support  on  their 
arrival  a  party  of  400  men  then  en  route  from  St.  Albans. 


XVI. 

Careless  of  consequences,  I  waited  to  see  what  would 
happen.  As  I  stood  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  where  our 
company  was  situated,  the  scene  was  indeed  worthy  of  my 
study.  Ludicrous  as  were  many  of  the  elements  which 
went  to  make  it  up,  the  charm  of  nature  was  superior  to 
them  all,  and  commanded  my  tribute  of  respect  and  admi- 
ration. Right  below  me  was  a  pretty  valley,  down  the 
very  centre  of  which  flowed  a  little  creek  marking  the 
boundary  of  Canadian  territory,  and  dividing  by  its  narrow 
course  the  Canadian  from  American  soil.  A  soft  pleasant 
sward  sloped  gracefully  down  from  where  I  stood  to  its 
bank,  while  on  the  other  side  there  rose  in  graceful  out- 
lines the  monarchs  of  a  Canadian  forest,  overtopped  by  a 
rocky  cliff  standing  out  in  bold  and  picturesque  relief. 
The  soft  sweet  breezes  of  the  spring  morning  played  upon 
our  faces,  while  the  brilliant  sunlight  sent  its  rays  flashing 
upon  our  bayonets,  and  dancing  on  the  waters  underneath. 

Nature  was  in  her  very  best  and  sweetest  mood,  and  yet 
little  room  for  appreciation  of  her  charms  existed  in  the 
breasts  of  those  who,  sweeping  down  the  valley's  side  be- 
neath me,  were  seeking,  in  their  own  foolish  v/ay,  to  make 
"  Ireland  a  nation  once  again."  They  were  a  funny  crowd. 
All  were  armed,  but  few  were  uniformed.     Here  and  there 


64  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

a  Fenian  coat,  with  its  green  and  gray  faced  with  gold, 
caught  the  eye,  but  only  to  stand  out  in  contrast  with  the 
surrounding  garments  of  more  sombre  hue  and  everyday 
appearance.  The  men  marched  with  a  certain  amount  of 
military  precision,  for  all  had  received  some  degree  of  m'l- 
itary  training.  At  last  they  reached  the  little  wooden 
bridge  by  which  the  water  was  crossed,  and  deploying  as 
skirmishers  in  close  order,  they  advanced  with  fixed  bayo- 
nets, cheering  wildly.  Not  a  soul  appeared  in  front.  The 
dark  Canadian  trees  hid  from  their  view  the  ambushed 
Canadian  volunteers  ;  and,  fixed  in  their  belief  that  nothing 
was  known  of  their  coming,  they  advanced  in  a  spirit  of 
effervescent  enthusiasm.     But  not  very  far,  however. 

A  few  paces,  and  on  their  startled  ears  came  the  ring- 
ing ping,  ping,  of  the  ambushed  rifles,  as  the  Canadians 
poured  a  deadly  volley  straight  into  their  ranks.  Utterly 
taken  aback,  they  stopped,  broke  rank,  and  fled  as  in  1866, 
an  ungovernable  mob,  to  return  for  a  moment  in  order  to 
pour  a  volley  on  their  almost  invisible  enemy,  and  to 
finally  retreat  up  the  hill  to  where  I  stood,  still  under  the 
fire  of  their  adversaries,  leaving  their  dead  to  be  subse- 
quently buried  by  the  Canadians. 

On  the  slope  of  the  hill  was  a  large  structure  known  as 
Richard's  Farm,  to  which  the  invaders  retreated  and  con- 
tinued their  firing,  ineffective  as  it  was. 

Seeing  that  all  was  over  here,  for  a  time  at  least,  I  hur- 
ried off  to  the  point  where  the  St.  Albans  contingent  had 
by  now  arrived,  and  were  arming.  The  process  took  some 
time,  and  while  engaged  in  superintending  it,  I  was  afforded 
practical  evidence  of  the  termination  of  O'Neill's  part  in 
the  fight.  Standing  in  the  middle  of  the  public  road  where 
the  men  were  forming  into  line  — it  was  now  half-past  one, 
the  *' battle"  which  I   have  just  described  having  taken 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  65 

place  about  11.30 — I  was  startled  by  the  cry,  ''Clear  the 
road,  clear  the  road!  "  and  almost  knocked  down  by  a  furi- 
ously driven  team  of  horses,  to  which  was  attached  a  cov- 
ered carriage.  As  the  conveyance  flashed  by  me,  I  caught 
through  the  carriage  window  a  hurried  glimpse  of  the 
dejected  faX:e  of  O'Neill,  who  was  seated  between  two 
men.  I  understood  the  situation  in  a  moment,  but  said 
nothing.  To  have  given  the  command  to  shoot  the  horses 
as  they  turned  an  adjacent  corner  would  have  been  the 
work  of  an  instant,  but  it  was  no  part  of  my  purpose  to 
restore  O'Neill  to  his  command.  I  learned  subsequently 
that  O'Neill  was  in  the  custody  of  the  United  States  mar- 
shal, General  Foster,  who,  acting  with  that  precision  so 
peculiar  to  General  Grant's  administration,  when  contrasted 
with  that  of  Andrew  Johnson's,  had,  in  consequence  of 
the  information  furnished,  arrived  on  the  scene  of  the 
battle  immediately  after  I  left,  and  arrested  O'Neill  for  a 
breach  of  the  Neutrality  Laws.  O'Neill,  who  was  in  the 
company  of  his  comrades,  had  at  first  refused  submission, 
and  threatened  force,  but  on  General  Foster  placing  a 
revolver  at  his  head,  he  gave  in. 

When  the  news  of  O'Neill's  arrest  reached  us  later  on  in 
the  afternoon,  a  council  of  war  was  held,  presided  over  by 
John  Boyle  O'Reilly,  of  whom  I  have  already  spoken,  the 
council  being  held  in  a  meadow,  where  we  all  stood  in  a  X 
circle.  Contingents  were  hourly  arriving,  and  a  strong 
attempt  was  made  to  get  Boyle  O'Reilly  to  take  command, 
and  lead  the  attack  at  some  other  point,  but  in  the  end 
nothing  was  done. 

Next  morning,  General  Spear,  the  Secretary  of  War  of 
the  Fenian  Brotherhood,  arrived  at  St.  Albans,  and  sought 
to  do  something  practical  in  the  way  of  continuing  the  in- 
vasion.    Through  his  aide-de-camp^  Colonel  Brown,  and 


66  TIVENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

subsequently  in  person,  he  appealed  to  me  to  supply  him 
with  400  or  500  stand-of-arms  and  ammunition  within 
twenty-four  hours.  Of  course,  it  would  never  have  done 
for  me  to  have  allowed  further  operations,  and  so  I  pleaded 
it  was  impossible  under  the  condition  of  affairs  then  de- 
veloped. Thousands  of  Canadian  troops  had  arrived  on 
the  border,  and  the  arms  being  located  in  places  difficult 
to  get  at,  they  were  out  of  reach  for  the  moment.  Luckily 
for  me,  the  appearance  of  United  States  troops  in  the 
vicinity  put  any  further  attempt  at  war  operations  out  of 
the  question,  for  in  order  to  avoid  arrest  for  breach  of  the 
Neutrality  Laws,  the  Fenians  had  to  disappear  with  alac- 
rity. I  left  this  point  with  the  rest  of  them,  and  hurrying 
to  Malone,  another  of  the  places  where  rendezvous  had 
been  arranged,  I  found  a  similar  state  of  things  prevailing 
here,  although  the  arrest  of  O'Neill,  and  the  unexpected 
appearance  of  the  United  States  troops,  filled  the  invaders 
with  dismay,  and  utter  demoralization  was  the  result. 


XVIL 

On  Friday,  April  27th,  under  the  excuse  that  I  was 
going  to  Burlington  to  see  about  O'Neill,  I  went  round 
by  way  of  Rouse's  Point  to  Montreal.  I  was  elated  with 
my  success,  and  wanted  to  report  myself  at  headquarters 
without  delay.  It  would  not,  however,  have  been  safe 
for  me  to  have  gone  direct  to  Ottawa,  and  so  I  travelled 
in  a  roundabout  way.  On  the  Friday  night  I  stopped 
with  Judge  Coursel,  the  Commissioner  of  the  Quebec 
police,  and  the  following  morning  took  train  to  Ottawa. 
Before  my  journey  concluded,  I  found  I  had  been  alto- 
gether too  premature  in  my  self-congratulations.     In  fact, 


IN   THE  SECRFrr  SERVICE.  6/ 

that  journey  brought  me  even  closer  to  discovery  than  I 
had  ever  been  before. 

Nothmg  unusual  happened  till  we  got  to  Cornwall, 
where  there  was  the  usual  half-hour's  delay  for  dinner. 
Taking  full  advantage  of  it,  I  was  enjoying  a  hearty  meal, 
when  both  my  meal  and  peace  of  mind  were  disturbed  by 
an  unlooked-for  incident.  Struck  by  an  unusual  commo- 
tion at  the  door  of  the  dining-room,  I  looked  round  to  find 
advancing  towards  me  two  men,  one  remarkable  for  his 
tall  military  appearance,  and  the  other  for  his  clerical 
attire.  All  eyes  were  turned  upon  them,  and  as  I  ceased 
eating  for  the  moment  to  look  up,  I  heard  the  clerical- 
looking  person  say,  as  he  pointed  his  finger  towards  me, 
"That  is  the  man."  Advancing,  the  tall  man,  who  subse- 
quently turned  out  to  be  the  mayor  of  Cornwall,  speaking 
with  a  Scotch  accent,  said,  *^  You  are  my  prisoner,"  accom- 
panying the  words  with  a  grasp  of  my  shoulder.  I  ima- 
gined there  was  some  mistake,  and  laughed  as  I  turned  to 
resume  my  dinner,  asking  at  the  same  time  what  was  the 
matter.  Not  a  movement,  however,  disturbed  the  solidity 
of  my  Scotch  friend's  face  as  he  solemnly  repeated  the 
words,  "You  are  my  prisoner,"  adding,  "you  must  come 
with  me  at  once." 

As  I  learned  subsequently,  the  priestly  looking  person 
was  a  wandering  preacher,  who  had  happened  to  be  in  the 
vicinity  of  Malone  when  I  was  locating  arms  there,  and  I 
had  been  pointed  out  to  him  then  as  the  leading  Fenian 
agent.  His  memory  was  a  very  good  one,  and  he  imme- 
diately recognized  me  when  we  m.et  again. 
,  Matters  were  beginning  to  look  serious;  but  still  I 
could  not  comprehend  what  all  this  meant,  and  being  still 
hungry  I  said,  "But  won't  you  let  me  finish  my  dinner.?" 
"No,"  was  the  sharp  reply;  "come." —  "For  what  rea- 


68  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

son  ?  "  quoth  I,  indignantly.  "  Why  am  I  arrested  ?  "  — 
"  You  are  a  Fenian,"  came  the  reply,  the  words  falling 
clearly  and  distinctly  on  the  hushed  room,  where  those 
present  began  to  show  signs  of  anger  and  indignation 
towards  me.  I  hurried  out  with  my  captors,  and  was 
taken  to  a  room  adjoining  the  ticket-office,  there  to  have 
demanded  of  me  my  luggage  and  my  keys,  with  everything 
on  my  person.  I  had  no  luggage  save  a  hand-bag,  yet  I 
had  with  me  documents  which  would  reveal  everything,  if 
made  public.  My  position  was  dangerous  —  distinctly 
dangerous.  The  prospect  before  me  was  that  of  disclos- 
ure and  imprisonment  amongst  a  strange  people,  where  I 
had  no  friend.  Prompt  action  was  called  for,  and  so  I 
asked  the  mayor  for  a  few  minutes'  private  conversation. 
Suspicious,  and  yet  curious,  he  brought  me  into  the 
ticket-office,  where  we  were  left  alone.  Here  I  told  him 
the  exact  situation.  It  was  true,  I  said,  that  I  was  a 
Fenian,  but  also  a  Government  agent.  I  was  even  then 
on  my  way  to  Ottawa  to  see  Judge  M'Micken.  To  delay 
or  expose  me  would  mean  serious  difficulty  for  the  Gov- 
ernment. Let  him  send  me  on  to  Ottawa  under  guard,  if 
he  liked,  and  then  he  would  prove  my  statements  true. 
Did  he  want  immediate  proof,  then  here  were  my  papers, 
and  there  a  telegram  to  Judge  M'Micken,  advising  him  of 
my  coming,  which  he  himself  would  despatch. 

My  manner  must  have  impressed  him,  for  he  decided  to 
adopt  my  suggestion,  and  send  me  on  by  the  same  train 
in  which  I  had  been  travelling  (which  had  not  yet  gone, 
all  this  occupying  but  a  few  minutes),  under  the  escort  of 
a  lieutenant  who,  with  his  Canadian  regiment,  was  then 
returning  from  the  scene  of  the  invasion.  The  details  of 
my  arrest  as  a  Fenian  quickly  spread  amongst  my  fellow- 
passengers,  and  travelled  before  me  on  the  route,  and  the 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  69 

reception  I  met  with  along  my  journey  was  most  disagree- 
able. For  safety's  sake,  the  lieutenant  transferred  me  to 
the  care  of  a  sergeant  and  couple  of  soldiers,  and  the  car- 
riage in  which  we  travelled  was  the  sole  point  of  attrac- 
tion in  the  train.  Crowding  round  this  carriage,  the 
infuriated  Canadians  would  hiss  and  hoot  me,  while  their 
cries  of  ''Hang  him,"  ''Lynch  him,"  gave  me  a  very 
uncomfortable  idea  of  what  would  happen  to  me  if  left 
alone  amongst  them.  So  careful  were  my  guardians  of 
me,  that  they  would  not  even  allow  me  to  have  the  win- 
dow raised,  so  that  I  might  smoke,  fearing  that  in  some 
way  I  might  take  advantage  of  the  open  window  to  escape. 
This  was  really  a  serious  grievance  with  me,  for  they 
could  not  possibly  have  inflicted  a  greater  deprivation 
than  that  in  the  matter  of  smoking.  All  through  my  life, 
even  down  to  the  present  time,  I  have  been  a  great 
smoker,  sometimes  consuming  as  many  as  sixteen  cigars 
in  the  day,  a  statement  which  will  probably  puzzle  some 
people  who  hold  that  tobacco  ruins  the  nerves. 

On  reaching  Prescott  Junction,  I  found  that  the  news 
of  my  capture  —  of  course  my  name  and  rank  never 
transpired  —  had  created  such  a  sensation  that  a  special 
correspondent  of  the  Toronto  Globe  had  travelled  to  meet 
me,  in  order  to  find  out  who  and  what  I  was,  and  every- 
thing about  me.  He  was  doomed  to  be  disappointed, 
however,  for  I  could  not  be  got  to  speak.  When,  event- 
ually, we' arrived  at  Ottawa,  I  found  my  telegram  to  Judge 
M'Micken  had  brought  his  representative  to  the  station, 
and  by  him,  myself  and  my  guards  were  immediately  con- 
veyed to  the  police-ofiBce,  where  the  Commissioner  was 
awaiting  us.  Pretty  certain  of  my  safety  now,  I  v/as 
quite  prepared  to  smile,  and  really  did  laugh  when  brought 
into  the  presence  of  my  friend  the  judge.     Not   so  he, 


70  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

however.  With  proverbial  soberness  and  solemnity,  he 
heard  the  details  of  my  capture,  received  possession  of 
my  person,  and  gave  a  formal  receipt  for  my  ^custody. 
Armed  with  this,  my  guardians  left,  and  then  the  old 
man's  genial  kindly  nature  asserted  itself.  By  his  in- 
structions, I  remained  in  his  office  till  nightfall,  when,  in  a 
cab  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  I  accompanied  him  to 
the  club  to  take  up  my  quarters  there  for  the  night. 

In  the  club  the  Fenian  prisoner  of  a  few  hours  previ- 
ously was  made  a  most  welcome  guest,  and  had  an  exceed- 
ingly good  time.  My  identity  being  known  to  some  of 
the  officers  who  crowded  the  club-house  after  their  return 
from  Franklin,  I  found  myself  quite  the  hero  of  the  hour, 
and  had  most  interesting  chats  over  the  experiences  of  the 
raid  on  both  sides  of  the  fight.  Amongst  the  pleasant 
people  whose  acquaintance  I  then  made,  was  Dr.  Grant, 
the  physician  to  Prince  Arthur,  who  was  in  Ottawa  at 
that  time. 

With  the  following  day  came  arrangements  for  my  de- 
parture for  home,  and  it  was  decided  that,  in  order  to  avoid 
travelling  over  the  same  line  again,  I  should  be  driven 
during  the  night  to  Arnprior  terminus  —  a  distance  of 
some  forty  miles  from  Ottawa  —  from  which  place  I  could 
take  a  branch  line  to  my  destination.  Fortunate  though 
I  thought  myself,  my  troubles  were  not  at  an  end.  This 
trip  of  mine  to  Ottawa  was  a  chapter  of  misfortunes.  As 
I  was  on  the  point  of  starting,  I  discovered  that  I  had  not 
sufficient  money  to  bring  me  home.  Accordingly,  Judge 
M'Micken  had  to  supply  me  with  the  needful  funds.  This, 
however,  did  not  prove  by  any  means  an  easy  thing  to  do. 
A  check  was  duly  drawn,  but  of  course  I  could  not  cash 
it,  and  the  judge  had  to  have  recourse  to  a  friend.  The 
amount  was  a  large  one  — three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  *J\ 

—  and  it  was  beyond  the  resources  of  the  ckib  at  the 
moment.  The  services  of  the  club  porter  therefore  had 
to  be  utilized  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  money. 
Here,  unknown  to  us,  seed  was  being  sown  which  was  to 
bear  evil  fruit.  The  porter  knew,  of  course,  that  I  was 
the  Fenian  prisoner,  although  nothing  more  ;  and,  gossip 
that  he  was,  he  let  out  the  secret  a  little  later.  It  became 
public  property ;  and  the  Canadian  press  published  the 
fact  that  an  important  Fenian  had  been  in  Ottawa  imme- 
diately after  the  raid,  and  received  a  very  large  sum  of 
money  from  the  Government  official  with  whom  he  was  in 
communication,  adding  that  the  Fenians  must  have  been 
nicely  duped  all  through.  This  was  bringing  danger  very, 
very  near  to  me  again  ;  yet,  marvellous  to  relate,  suspicion 
never  rested  upon  me  in  connection  with  the  paragraph. 
I  drove  from  Ottawa  in  the  night,  got  safely  home,  and 
was  never  troubled  further  by  my  eventful  visit.  But,  for 
a  long  time,  I  treasured  very  unchristian-like  feelings 
towards  that  porter. 

XVIII. 

With  the  fiasco  at  Pigeon  Hill,  and  the  equally  in- 
glorious termination  of  the  musters  at  other  points  of  the 
Canadian  border,  there  died  out  altogether  the  idea  of 
attacking  and  seizing  any  portion  of  Canada.  O'Neill, 
after  some  confinement,  was  brought  to  trial,  and  sen- 
tenced to  six  months'  imprisonment,  and  the  Fenian 
organization  literally  went  to  pieces  for  the  time.  I  had 
no  thought  of  its  ever  reviving  again,  and  so  turned  my 
attention  once  more  to  my  medical  work,  which  I  had  had 
to  completely  neglect  from  the  time  of  my  leaving  Joliet 
and  attaching  myself  to  O'Neill's  staff. 


72  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

I  had  scarcely  resumed  my  studies,  however,  when  a 
visit  from  O'Neill  on  his  release  showed  me  that  there 
was  still  some  fight  left  in  himself  and  his  comrades.  He 
came  to  me  as  a  matter  of  fact  to  enlist  my  co-operation 
in  some  work  of  a  distinctly  active  character.  In  expla- 
nation of  the  position  of  affairs,  he  laid  before  me  the 
originals  of  several  letters  to  him  from  the  Rev.  W.  B. 
O'Donohoe,  a  young  priest  of  Manitoba,  who  was  at  the 
time  acting  as  secretary  for  the  notorious  Riel.  The  cor- 
respondence gave  all  the  details  of  a  contemplated  uprising 
of  the  half-breeds  in  the  North-West  against  the  Domin- 
ion authorities,  and  stated,  to  my  amazement  and  disgust, 
that  he — this  young  priest  —  had  received  permission 
from  his  Archbishop  —  Tasche  —  to  throw  off  his  ecclesi- 
astical garments  ard  take  a  part  therein. 

In  conclusion,  O'Neill's  assistance  and  co-operation  in 
the  attempt  was  sought,  and  as  he  put  it,  ''  anything  to 
cripple  the  enemy  "  being  his  motto,  he  was  only  too 
eager  for  the  fray.  He  had  one  great  difficulty,  however, 
and  that  was  the  want  of  arms.  Knowing  that  a  quantity 
remained  in  hiding  since  the  second  raid,  he  had  sought 
to  obtain  possession  of  them,  but  had  been  referred  to 
me  as  the  person  who  had  deposited  them  with  their 
present  custodians,  and  without  whose  permission  they 
could  not  be  given  up.  I  cheerfully  agreed  to  let  him 
have  400  breech-loaders  and  ammunition,  and  accom- 
panied him  to  the  points  where  they  were,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  their  delivery,  but  not  before  I  had  surreptitiously 
obtained  the  use  of  the  documents,  and  sent  copies  to 
both  the  Home  and  Canadian  Governments  with  full  in- 
formation as  to  what  was  sur  le  tapis. 

O'Neill,  in  company  with  a  trusted  confederate,  J.  J. 
Donnelly,  fitted  out  his  expedition,  and  on  the   5th  day  of 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  73 

October,  1871,  after  crossing  the  line  at  Fort  Pembina, 
was  arrested  with  his  party,  and  all  his  war  material 
seized,  in  consequence  of  the  information  supplied  by  me. 
Riel,  thus  deprived  of  the  expected  assistance,  surren- 
dered at  Fort  Garry  to  Lord  Wolseley  without  firing  a 
shot.  O'Neill  and  his  party  having  been  turned  over  to 
the  United  States  authorities,  were,  four  days  afterwards, 
tried  and  acquitted.  Strange  as  it  appears,  these  men, 
captured  on  Canadian  soil,  were,  by  some  egregious  blun- 
der, handed  over  to  the  United  States  authorities,  and  by 
them  acquitted  on  the  ludicrous  technicality  that  the 
offence  was  not  committed  on  American,  but  Canadian 
soil. 

Subsequently  O'Neill  came  back  to  me  and  made  my 
life  a  burden.  Discredited  and  disheartened,  he  took  to 
drink  and  went  entirely  to  the  dogs,  bringing  to  the  verge 
of  starvation  an  affectionate  but  heart-broken  wife,  who, 
once  a  sister  of  mercy,  had  nursed  and  grown  to  love  him 
in  a  hospital  where  he  was  confined,  and,  disregarding  all 
her  vows,  had  in  the  end  married  him.  Drifting  slowly 
downward  through  disgrace  and  drink,  O'Neill,  the  once 
brilliant,  if  egotistical.  Irishman  met  a  lone  and  miserable 
death. 

XIX. 

On  resuming  my  studies,  I  decided  to  enter  the  Detroit 
College  of  Medicine,  and  so,  taking  my  family  with  me,  I 
settled  down  there.  There  were  many  reasons  for  my 
change  of  residence,  not  the  least  important  of  which 
v/as  that  connected  with  the  unpopularity  which  I  found 
attached  to  me  in  my  old  home  after  my  return  from  the 
Canadian   affair.      O'Neill   had  many  opponents,  and  by 


74 


TWENTY-FI VE    YEA  RS 


these  opponents  I  was  attacked  in  company  with  O'Neill, 
and  the  others  engaged  in  the  affair,  for  having  ruined  the 
organization  by  the  premature  ''invasion"  which  had 
taken  place.  Therefore,  I  thought  it  better  to  remove  to 
another  quarter  where  this  state  of  feeling  did  not  exist, 
and  where  my  Irish  record  would  be  of  service  to  me  in 
the  future.  As  far  as  Detroit  was  concerned,  I  fixed  upon 
it  because  of  the  desire  of  Judge  M'Micken  that  I  should 
become  acquainted  with,  and  obtain  as  much  information 
as  I  could  about,  Mackay  Lomasney  —  whose  name  will 
be  familiar  in  connection  with  the  London  Bridge  explo- 
sion—  and  others  just  settled  down  there. 

Lomasney  was,  in  the  eyes  of  the  authorities,  an  impor- 
tant man  ;  and  his  subsequent  career,  terminating  with 
the  attempt  to  blow  up  London  Bridge,  in  which  he  lost 
his  own  life,  fully  justified  their  estimate.  He  had  been 
engaged  in  the  '65  and  '6^  movements  in  Ireland,  had 
been  charged  with  the  murder  of  a  policeman  and  ac- 
quitted, but  sentenced  to  twelve  years'  penal  servitude 
for  his  work  as  a  rebel,  and,  with  others  whose  names  will 
appear  later,  had  been  amnestied  in  the  year  1870.  He 
had  now  settled  down  in  Detroit  as  the  proprietor  of  a 
book-store  ;  and  as  he  was  known  to  be  a  most  active 
revolutionist,  much  curiosity  was  felt  as  to  what  he  was 
actually  doing.  I  formed  a  very  pleasant  acquaintance 
with  Mackay  Lomasney,  and  found  him  a  most  entertain- 
ing man.  The  future  dynamitard  was  at  this  time  about 
twenty-eight  years  of  age.  Though  of  youthful  appear- 
ance, his  face  was  a  most  determined  one,  and  the  way  in 
which  it  lent  itself  to  disguise  truly  marvellous.  When 
covered  with  the  dark  bushy  hair,  of  which  he  had  a  pro- 
fusion, it  was  one  face  ;  when  clean-shaven,  quite  another, 
and  impossible  of  recognition.     Acting,  as  he  constantly 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  75 

did,  as  the  delegate  from  the  American  section  to  the 
Fenians  at  home,  this  faculty  of  disguise  proved  of  enor- 
mous service,  and  may  very  well  have  had  disastrous 
effects  on  police  vigilance.  I  have  seen  Lomasney  both 
shaved,  on  his  return  from  Ireland,  and  unshaved,  in  his 
American  life  ;  and  in  all  the  men  I  have  ever  met,  I 
never  saw  such  a  change  produced  by  so  easy  a  process. 
I  may  dismiss  Mackay  Lomasney  from  this  point  of  my 
story  by  saying  that,  beyond  his  activity  in  connection 
with  the  establishment  of  the  Irish  Confederation,  his 
movements  gave  little  ground  for  apprehension,  and,  as 
far  as  the  Confederation  was  concerned,  its  development 
proved  of  very  little  account. 

But,  if  the  Confederation  was  to  accomplish  little,  the 
men  who  with  Lomasney  took  part  in  its  initiation  were 
not  without  their  claims  to  attention.  Foremost  amongst 
them  were  two  bearing  names  destined  to  be  familiar  in 
latter-day  politics.  These  were  O'Donovan  Rossa  and 
John  Devoy.  As  both  will  be  found  constantly  strutting 
across  the  stage  of  Irish-American  affairs  from  this  date, 
I  will  pause  here  to  refer  to  them  in  some  little  detail. 

Jeremiah  O'Donovan  —  the  "Rossa"  was,  he  claims, 
added  in  early  years  as  the  outward  and  visible  sign  of 
the  alleged  fact  of  his  being  directly  descended  from  the 
Princes  of  Rossa  —  was,  at  the  time  of  his  arrival,  one  of 
the  most  popular  men  amongst  the  Irish  in  the  United 
States.  Sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  life  for  taking 
part  in  the  '65  movement,  he  had,  according  to  general 
rumor,  undergone  the  severest  of  sufferings  and  indigni- 
ties in  the  British  dungeons.  A  strong  current  of  sympathy 
set  in  in  his  favor  in  consequence,  and  as  both  in  public 
and  private  he  lost  no  opportunity  of  dilating  upon  his 
grievance,  the  sentiment  was  in  no  sense  allowed  to  waver 


76  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

or  grow  weak.  The  man  whose  name  was  to  be  so  closely 
associated  with  dynamite  and  devilry  in  later  years,  did 
not  at  this  time  suggest  by  his  appearance  the  possession 
of  any  undue  ferocity.  His  face,  though  determined,  was 
yet  not  without  its  kindly  aspect,  while  his  love  for  the 
bottle  betrayed  a  jovial  rather  than  a  fiendish  instinct. 
His  fierceness,  indeed,  lay  altogether  in  speech.  Voluble 
and  sweeping  in  his  language,  he  was  never  so  happy  as 
when  pouritig  out  the  vials  of  his  wrath  on  the  British 
Government. 

Devoy,  the  notorious  author  of  the  "  New  Departure," 
was  at  once  seen  to  be  a  man  of  weighty  influence.  For- 
bidding of  aspect,  with  a  perpetual  scowl  upon  his  face, 
he  immediately  conveyed  the  idea  of  being  a  quarrelsome 
man,  an  idea  sustained  and  strengthened  by  both  his 
manner  of  speech  and  gruffness  of  voice.  Experience  of 
Devoy's  character  only  went  to  prove  the  correctness 
of  this  view.  Quarrelsome  and  discontented,  ambitious 
and  unscrupulous,  his  friendships  were  few  and  far  be- 
tween ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  his  undoubted  ability,  and 
the  existence  of  those  necessities  which  link  adventurers 
together,  he  could  never  have  reached  the  prominent 
place  which  he  subsequently  attained  in  the  Fenian 
organization. 

With  their  fellow-prisoners  who  had  been  amnestied. 
General  Thomas  F.  Bourke,  Thomas  Clarke  Luby,  Ed- 
mond  Power,  and  Henry  S.  Meledy,  together  with  James 
J.  O'Kelly,  late  M.P.  for  Roscommon,  but  then  a  strug- 
gling reporter  on  a  New  York  paper,  Rossa  and  Devoy 
brought  the  Irish  Confederation  into  existence,  and 
formed  its  first  "directory"  or  executive.  They  indulged 
in  the  wild  hope  of  being  able  to  gather  in  all  the  scat- 
tered Irish  under  one  banner,  and  to  put  an  end  once  and 


IN  THE   SECRET  SERVICE. 


77 


for  all  to  the  dissensions  and  divisions  which  had  so  dis- 
astrously affected  Irish  affairs  in  the  past.  They  were 
disappointed.  Not  by  their  unaided  efforts  was  this  to 
be  accomplished.  Indeed,  the  Confederation  was  never 
popular.  It  was  regarded  as  a  sort  of  close  corporation 
"  run,"  as  we  say  in  the  United  States,  in  the  interest  of 
the  exiles,  and,  as  a  consequence,  was  jealously  viewed 
by  the  rank  and  file.  Every  effort  that  could  be  made  to 
bring  about  a  fusion  was  tried  by  these  men,  but  without 
success.  Even  Stephens  himself  was  brought  over  from 
France  and  put  at  the  head  of  affairs  ;  but  his  name  had 
lost  its  charm,  and  he  had  to  return  to  Paris  a  discredited 
man. 

XX. 

While  my  Fenian  friends  struggled  on  in  this  way,  I 
looked  after  my  own  affairs.  Completing  my  studies  and 
business  in  Detroit,  I  moved  myself  and  my  family  to 
Wilmington,  where  I  settled  down  to  make  a  home  and 
secure  an  income.  I  was  now  a  fully  fledged  M.D.,  and  so  I 
immediately  commenced  practising  at  Braidwood,  a  suburb 
of  Wilmington.  Success  attended  my  start,  my  Irish  con- 
nection and  record  bringing  me  an  amount  of  patronage 
almost  beyond  my  powers  of  attention.  I  had  given  up 
all  idea  of  anything  definite  happening  in  the  way  of 
Fenian  affairs,  and  turned  my  attention  to  local  politics. 
Here,  of  course,  my  Irish  friends  were  again  of  use. 
Failing  to  obtain  a  seat  on  the  School  Board,  for  which  I 
had  been  nominated,  I  succeeded  in  getting  an  appoint- 
ment on  the  Board  of  Health.  The  office  was  really  a 
sinecure,  with  one  hundred  dollars  a  year  attached.  Not 
content  with  it,  I  gained  the  much  more  lucrative  appoint- 


y8   •  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

ment  of  Supervisor  of  Braidwood,  attached  to  which  was 
a  daily  fee  of  2\  dollars,  and  travelling  allowances  when 
engaged  on  town  business.  Anybody  acquainted  with 
the  American  political  system,  even  to  a  moderate  extent, 
will  know  how  paying  such  offices  can  be  made. 

Meantime  I  had  joined  the  Medical  Society  of  my  State, 
and  assisted  in  founding  the  State  Pharmaceutical  Society. 
My  activity  did  not  even  stop  here,  and,  in  addition,  I 
took  a  very  active  part  in  bringing  about  much-needed 
legislation  on  the  question  of  the  practice  of  medicine. 
In  these  days  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a  State  law 
regulating  the  practice  of  medicine  or  pharmacy,  and  I  — 
let  me  frankly  confess  it  —  as  much  for  the  sake  of  popu- 
larity as  anything  else,  spared  no  pains,  even  going  to  the 
extent  of  ''lobbying"  in  Springfield,  the  State  capital,  in 
the  interest  of  legislation  on  these  matters,  in  which  I  was 
very  successful. 

Little  as  I  imagined  it  then,  events  were  at  this  time 
shaping  themselves  to  an  end  which,  frequently  attempted, 
had  never  yet  been  wholly  accomplished  by  the  aspiring 
leaders  of  the  Irish  in  America.  This  was  the  bringing 
together  of  all  Irishmen  at  home  and  abroad  into  one  vast 
and  perfect  organization.  The  hour  was  coming,  and  with 
it  the  men.  Born  in  comparative  poverty  and  insignifi- 
cance, but  under  an  impressiv^e  name,  the  association  now 
being  formed,  the  great  Clan-na-Gael  of  the  future,  was 
destined  to  be  a  powerful,  rich,  and  far-reaching  organiza- 
tion, healthy  of  limb  and  strong  of  hand,  fated  to  leave 
its  heavy  mark  upon  the  pages  of  this  half-century's  his- 
tory.    From  small  beginnings  have  come  great  results. 

Away  back  towards  the  end  of  the  sixties,  there  came 
into  existence  one  of  these  temporal  societies,  an  off -shoot 
of  the    permanent    conspiracy  known    under    the    name 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


79 


'•'  Knights  of  the  Inner  Circle,"  which  was  joined  by  many 
Irish  conspirators,  myself  amongst  the  number.  With  its 
members  there  became  associated,  in  the  latter  end  of 
1869,  some  three  hundred  members  of  the  ''  Brian  Boru  " 
Circle  of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood  in  New  York  City,  who, 
in  consequence  of  a  political  quarrel  over  electioneering 
matters,  seceded  from  their  original  body ;  and,  by  these 
men  acting  in  concert  with  others  under  the  name  of  the 
"  United  Irishmen,"  what  were  really  the  first  camps  of 
the  Clan-na-Gael  were  established. 

The  V.C.  (the  cipher  was  arranged  on  the  plan  of  using 
the  alphabetical  letters  immediately  following  those  in- 
tended to  be  indicated)  had  for  its  object  the  same  inten- 
tion which  governed  the  inception  and  development  of  all 
Irish  conspiracy  in  America  —  the  freedom  of  Ireland 
from  English  control  by  armed  force.  It  was,  however, 
to  differ  from  its  predecessors  insomuch  as,  unlike  them, 
it  was  to  be  of  an  essentially  secret  character.  P.  R. 
Walsh  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  known  as  "  the  Father  of  the 
Clan,"  was  the  apostle  of  this  new  condition  of  things, 
and  he,  Vvdth  others  of  shrewd  and  far-seeing  minds,  argued 
with  great  success,  tnat  if  one  lesson  more  important  than 
another  was  to  be  learnt  from  the  past  history  and  miser- 
able fiascos  of  the  movement,  it  was  that  no  possible  suc- 
cess could  be  achieved  with  a  revolutionary  organization 
working  in  the  open  day.  The  Irish  people,  reasoned 
these  priests  of  the  new  faith,  had  not  judgment  enough 
to  manage  their  schemes  for  freedom.  They  revealed 
their  secrets  to  the  heads  of  their  Church  ;  they  were  dic- 
tated to  by  these  heads  ;  they  feared  to  obey  their  non- 
clerical  leaders  ;  and  so  were  thwarted  the  best  schemes 
of  the  most  active  workers.  A  revolutionary  movement 
must  be  secret  and  unscrupulous,  and,  to  be  successful, 


8o  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

they  could  not  enter  on  the  contest  for  freedom  with  the 
yoke  of  the  Church  around  their  neck. 

Language  like  this  reads  strangely  indeed  in  the  light 
of  latter-day  revelations,  and  the  knowledge  the  world 
now  has  of  Clan-na-Gael  priests  and  their  work.  But  at 
the  time  it  was  not  without  its  appropriateness  and  sig- 
nificance. The  priests  at  the  period  of  which  I  write 
were,  neither  in  Ireland  nor  America,  the  priests  of  these 
subsequent  years.  Then,  as  in  these  days  of  old,  when 
religion  was  paramount  and  priestly  control  salutary  and 
effective,  the  ban  of  the  Church  was  not  merely  a  phrase 
dangerous  in  sound,  it  was  a  living  dread  reality,  fearful 
in  its  consequences  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  in  their  lives 
worked  out  that  grand  old  characteristic  of  the  Irish  peo- 
ple, faith  in  their  Church  and  reverence  toward  its  rulers. 
It  was  reserved  for  the  coming  years  to  bring  to  the  view 
of  a  startled  public  a  people  reckless  and  defiant  of  priestly 
control,  because  of  the  teachings  of  their  atheistic  and 
communistic  leaders,  and  the  self-surrender  of  all  their 
higher  and  priestly  functions  by  those  who  were  content 
to  be  led  by,  rather  than  to  lead  those  whose  consciences 
were  their  charge  and  their  responsibility. 


XXI. 

The  arguments  were  well  put,  and  what  was  more,  they 
were  well  timed.  They  proved  successful.  Everything 
appeared  in  favor  of  the  new  move  ;  and  the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  Fenian  organization  in  Great  Britain  on  a 
more  compact  secret  basis,  under  the  title  of  the  Irish 
Republican  Brotherhood,  was  one  of  the  many  satisfactory 
features  of  the  moment.    Matters,  however,  moved  slowly  ; 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  8 1 

and,  although  actually  established  in  1869,  it  was  not  until 
the  year  1873  that  the  movement  became  in  any  way  gen- 
eral. Then  it  was  that,  merging  almost  all  other  societies 
in  itself,  the  Clan,  now  known  as  the  V.  C.  or  United 
Brotherhood,  established  subordinate  bodies  or  "Camps," 
as  they  were  called,  almost  simultaneously  in  all  the  lead- 
ing centres  of  the  United  States.  Secrecy  was  the  text 
preached  in  every  direction.  Every  member  was  bound 
by  the  most  solemn  of  oaths  to  keep  secret  all  knowledge 
of  the  order  and  its  proceedings  which  might  come  to 
him,  under  penalty  of  death.  A  Masonic  form  of  ritual 
was  adopted ;  grips,  passwords,  signs,  and  terrorizing  pen- 
alties were  decided  upon  ;  and  all  the  pomp  and  circum- 
stance of  mystery,  so  dear  to  the  Irish  heart  and  so  effective 
in  such  a  conspiracy,  were  called  to  the  aid  of  those  who 
now  inculcated  this  new  doctrine. 

Undoubtedly,  there  was  no  secret  made  amongst  its 
members  as  to  the  treasonable  character  of  the  organiza- 
tion. The  official  printed  Constitution  set  forth  the  truth 
of  the  matter  in  no  uncertain  way.  "The  object,"  it 
stated,  "is  to  aid  the  Irish  people  in  the  attainment  of  the 
complete  and  absolute  independence  of  Ireland,  by  the 
overthrow  of  English  domination  :  a  total  separation  from 
that  country,  and  the  complete  severance  of  all  political 
connection  with  it  ;  the  establishment  of  an  independent 
republic  on  Irish  soil,  chosen  by  the  free  votes  of  the  whole 
Irish  people,  without  distinction  of  creed  or  class,  and  the 
restoration  to  all  Irishmen  of  every  creed  and  class  of  their 
natural  privileges  of  citizenship  and  equal  rights.  It  shall 
prepare  unceasingly  for  an  armed  insurrection  in  Ireland." 

The  Ritual  and  forms  of  initiation  were  framed  en- 
tirely upon  Masonic  precedent ;  and,  to  the  vast  majority 
of  the  members  of  the  Clan,  the  statement  will  come  no 


82  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

doubt  as  a  great  surprise  that  the  much  vaunted  secret 
forms  of  the  Masonic  order  need  be  secret  to  them  no 
longer,  inasmuch  as  that,  when  being  admitted  to  a  Clan- 
na-Gael  club,  they  were  going  through  the  same  forms  and 
ceremonies  as  attached  themselves  to  that  great  source  of 
mystery  and  wonderment  in  the  eyes  of  the  non-elect,  the 
Masonic  Brotherhood.  I  have  often  laughed  to  myself 
at  the  surprise  shown  by  some  Masons  on  the  occa- 
sion of  their  initiation  to  Clan-na-Gael  clubs  —  for 
there  are  Masons  in  the  Clan  —  at  being  brought  once 
more  into  contact  with  the  familiar  procedure.  One  great 
feature  of  similarity  exists  between  the  two  ceremonies. 
In  both  the  candidate  is  impressed  with  a  deep  sense  of 
awe  and  respect,  to  learn  subsequently  that  nothing 
very  mysterious  or  wonderful  is  to  come  within  his 
knowledge.  Though  the  effect  is  the  same,  however,  the 
causes  are  very  different.  In  one  case,  that  of  the  Mason, 
nothing  very  strange  happens  or  is  committed  to  his 
secrecy,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  practice  of  brotherly 
love  and  charity  requires  no  unusual  strain  either  on  his 
powers  of  wonder  or  reserve  ;  while  in  the  other  the  poor 
confiding  Irishman  is  simply  intended  to  play  the  part  of 
a  dupe,  to  move  and  subscribe  to  order,  but  to  be  trusted 
in  no  single  regard,  until  by  jobbery  or  manipulation  he 
works  his  way  to  the  higher  ranks  of  the  organization. 

The  candidates  for  membership  were  balloted  for  in 
the  usual  club  manner,  three  black  balls  excluding.  The 
successful  ones  having  answered  different  queries  regard- 
ing their  age,  belief  in  God,  etc.  etc.,  were,  after  being 
blindfolded  and  shut  out  from  view  of  their  future  asso- 
ciates, brought  forward  and  addressed  by  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  meeting  as  follows  :  — 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  Z^ 

My  Friends,  —  Animated  by  love,  duty,  and  patriotism,  you  have  sought 
affiliation  with  us.  We  have  deemed  you  worthy  of  our  confidence  and  our 
friendship.  You  are  now  within  these  secret  walls.  The  men  who  surround 
you  have  all  taken  the  obligations  of  our  Order,  and  are  endeavoring  to  fulfil 
its  duties.  These  duties  must  be  cheerfully  complied  with,  or  not  at  all  under- 
taken. We  are  Jsjtinfo  (Irishmen)  banded  together  for  the  purpose  of  free- 
ing Jsfmboe  (Ireland)  and  elevating  the  position  of  the  Isjti  (Irish)  race. 
The  lamp  of  the  bitter  past  plainly  points  our  path,  and  we  believe  that  the 
first  step  on  the  road  to  freedom  is  secrecy.  Destitute  of  secrecy,  defeat  will 
again  cloud  our  brightest  hopes;  and,  believing  this,  we  shall  hesitate  at  no 
sacrifice  to  maintain  it.  Be  prepared,  then,  to  cast  aside  with  us  every 
thought  that  may  impede  the  growth  of  this  holy  feeling  among  Jsjtinfo 
(Irishmen);  for,  once  a  member  of  this  Order,  you  must  stand  by  its  watch- 
words of  Secrecy,  Obedience,  and  Love.  With  this  explanation,  I  ask  you 
are  you  willing  to  proceed?  " 

The  answer  being  satisfactory,  the  candidates  were  next 
placed  opposite  the  President,  and  addressed  by  him  as 
follows  :  — 

'*My  Friends,  —  By  your  own  voluntary  act  you  are  now  before  us.  You 
have  learned  the  nature  of  the  cause  in  which  we  are  engaged  —  a  cause 
honorable  to  our  manhood,  and  imposed  upon  us  by  every  consideration  of 
duty  and  patriotism.  We  would  not  have  an  unwilling  member  amongst  us, 
and  we  give  you,  even  now,  the  opportunity  of  withdrawing,  if  you  so  desire. 
Every  man  here  has  taken  a  solemn  and  binding  oath  to  be  faithful  to  the 
trust  we  repose  in  him.  This  oath,  I  assure  you,  is  one  which  does  not  con- 
flict with  any  duty  which  you  owe  to  God,  to  your  country,  your  neighbors, 
or  yourself.  It  must  be  taken  before  you  can  be  admitted  to  light  and  fel- 
lowship in  our  Order.  With  this  assurance,  and  understanding,  as  you  do, 
that  the  object  of  this  organization  is  the  freedom  of  Jsfmboe  (Ireland),  will 
you  submit  yourself  to  our  rules  and  regulations  and  take  our  obligation 
without  mental  reservation?  " 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  address,  the  questions  having 
been  put,  and  correctly  replied  to,  the  candidate  took  the 
oath  as  follows  :  — 


"  I, ,  do  solemnly  and  sincerely  swear,  in  the  presence  of  Almighty 

God,  that  I  will  labor,  while  life  is  left  me,  to  establish  and  defend  a  republi- 
can form  of  government  in  Jsfmboe  (Ireland).     That  I  will  never  reveal  the 


84  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

secrets  of  this  organization  to  any  person  or  persons  not  entitled  to  know 
them.  That  I  will  obey  and  comply  with  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the 
V.C.,  and  promptly  and  faithfully  execute  all  constitutional  orders  coming  to 
me  from  the  proper  authority,  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  That  I  will  foster  a 
spirit  of  unity,  nationality,  and  brotherly  love  among  the  people  of  Jsfmboe 
(Ireland). 

"  I  furthermore  swear  that  I  do  not  now  belong  to  any  other  Jsjti  sfwpm- 
vujpobsz  (Irish  revolutionary)  society  antagonistic  to  this  organization,  and 
that  I  will  not  become  a  member  of  such  society  while  connected  with  the 
V.C.,  and,  finally,  I  swear  that  I  take  this  obligation  without  mental  reserva- 
tion and  that  any  violation  hereof  is  infamous  and  merits  the  severest 
punishment.     So  help  me  God."     (Kiss  the  book.) 

And  then,  in  conclusion,  the  President  made  the  follow- 
ing remarks  :  — 

"The  name  of  this  Order  is  the  V.C.  Its  local  sub-divisions  are  styled 
D.'s,  and  are  known  by  members.  This  is  D.  No.  — .  The  leading  object 
of  the  V.C.  is  to  co-operate  with  the  J.S.C.  (Irish  Republican  Brotherhood) 
in  securing  the  independence  of  Jsfmboe  (Ireland),  and  the  special  object  is 
to  secure  the  union  of  all  Jsjti  Obujpobmjtut  (Irish  Nationalists).  As  it  is 
essential  for  the  safe  and  efficient  working  of  our  organization  to  preserve  the 
strictest  secrecy  in  reference  to  it,  you  will  never  mention  the  name  of  the 
V.C,  or  anything  connected  therewith,  to  any  one  whom  you  do  not  know 
to  be  a  member  thereof  in  good  standing.  And  that  wC'  may  be  more  effec- 
tually guarded  from  exposure,  as  well  as  to  secure  concentration  of  effort, 
you  are  prohibited  by  the  supreme  authority  from  contributing  money  to,  or 
otherwise  aiding,  any  other  Jsjti  sfwpmvujpobsz  (Irish  revolutionary)  society. 

"  Should  you  desire  to  secure  some  worthy  person  for  membership,  you 
will  first  have  him  proposed  here,  and,  if  elected,  you  may  then  indirectly 
and  carefully  ascertain  his  sentiments  on  the  subject  of  secret  Jsjti  Obujpobm 
(Irish  National)  organizations,  and,  should  his  vievvs  be  favorable,  you  might 
then  intimate  that  you  believe  there  is  a  secret  organization  in  existence  work- 
ing for  Jsjti  (Irish)  liberty;  and,  if  he  appears  inclined  to  join  it,  you  may 
admit  that  you  are  a  member  of  it,  or  acquainted  with  a  member  of  it,  and 
that  you  think  you  can  secure  his  admission  therein;  but  no  further  infor- 
mation must  you  convey,  nor  use  the  name  of  any  person  connected  with  the 
Order.   .   .   . 

"Finally,  my  brother,  be  careful  that  you  do  not  make  an  improper  use 
of  these  instructions,  and  let  not  the  cause  of  Jsfmboe  (Ireland)  or  the  inter- 
ests of    the  V.C.  suffer   through  any  want  of    prudence,  perseverance,  and 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  85 

courage    on   your   part  while    travelling   onwards  on    the  path  to  freedom. 
(Two  raps.) 

*'  Brothers !  It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  introduce  to  you  your  new 
brother."     (One  rap.) 

XXII. 

Up  to  the  year  1881,  when  the  administration  of  the 
conspiracy  underwent  a  change,  with  which  I  will  deal 
at  its  proper  time,  the  Clan-na-Gael  was  governed  by 
an  executive  body  (known  in  the  cipher  as  F.C.),  pre- 
sided over  by  a  Chairman  elected  by  the  body  at  the 
annual  conventions,  and  a  Revolutionary  Directory  known 
without  any  regard  to  the  cipher  by  its  initial  letters 
R.D.  This  Revolutionary  Directory  was  composed 
of  seven  men,  three  of  whom  were  nominated  by  the 
Executive,  three  by  the  Irish  Republican  Brotherhood 
(known  as  the  J.  S.  C.)  in  Ireland,  and  a  seventh  selected 
by  the  six  when  appointed.  The  Revolutionary  Directory 
was,  as  its  name  implies,  a  body  dealing  directly  with 
revolutionary  matters,  and  it  was  chiefly  characterized  by 
the  autocratic  power  possessed  by  its  members,  about 
whose  action  no  detailed  information  was  supplied,  and 
against  whose  proceedings  there  was,  in  consequence,  no 
basis  for  appeal.  The  names  of  all  these  officers  were 
known  only  to  the  delegates  who  elected  them,  and  to  the 
Presiding  Officer  of  each  camp,  known  as  Senior  Guardian. 

To  the  Executive  (or  E.G.)  was  intrusted,  amongst 
other  things,  the  arrangements  regarding  the  places  and 
dates  for  holding  the  biennial  and  annual  conventions  of 
the  order ;  and  their  decision  in  this  respect  was  care- 
fully guarded,  and  only  at  the  very  last  moment  commu- 
nicated to  the  high  officials,  in  order  to  prevent  any  spies 
or  agents  of  the  British  Government  from  becoming  ac- 


S6  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

quainted  with  their  proceedings.  The  head  of  each  subor- 
dinate body  was  informed  a  week  in  advance  of  the  date 
and  place  of  the  convention  ;  and  he  was  instructed  to 
arrange  for  the  immediate  election  of  a  delegate  from 
his  camp.  So  close  was  the  secret  kept,  that  the  dele- 
gate, if  other  than  the  presiding  officer,  did  not  know  till 
the  very  hour  of  his  starting  where  he  was  bound  for. 
Like  convicts,  the  members  were  known  by  numbers, 
never  by  names.  Camps  (known  as  D's)  were  also  num- 
bered ;  and,  in  order  the  better  to  cover  their  doings  from 
the  outside  world,  each  camp  had  a  public  name  by  which 
it  was  known.  For  instance,  my  own  camp  was  known  as 
the  "Emmet  Literary  Association." 

During  the  early  years  of  its  existence  I  was  not  a 
member  of  the  Clan-na-Gael.  Although,  as  I  have  stated, 
I  was  one  of  the  ''  Knights  of  the  Inner  Circle,"  I  did  not 
take  any  prominent  part  in  the  early  days,  when  the  V.C. 
succeeded,  or  rather  absorbed  it.  There  were  reasons 
for  my  not  doing  so.  My  prominence  and  action  in  the 
ill-fated  Canadian  raid  had  not  been  altogether  forgotten, 
and  I  was  still  held  responsible,  in  certain  minds,  for  the 
premature  undertaking  of  it.  Another  reason  affecting 
my  action  was  the  difficulty  introduced  by  a  clause  in  the 
new  constitution  in  regard  to  the  question  of  nationality. 
This  clause  read  as  follows  :  — 

"All  persons  of  Irish  birth  or  descent,  or  of  partial  Irish  descent,  shall  be 
eligible  to  membership;  but  in  cases  of  persons  of  partial  Irish  descent, 
the  camps  are  directed  to  make  special  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  history, 
character,  and  sentiments  of  the  person  proposed." 

In  view  of  the  whole  situation,  I  determined  that  I 
should  live  down  any  ill-feeling  which  might  exist  regard- 
ing my  previous  exploits,  and  that  I  should  take  advantage 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


87 


of  the  interval  thus  brought  about  by  arranging  some  plan 
for  my  election  later,  on  the  ground  of  my  partial  Irish 
descent.  I  had,  of  course,  hitherto  passed  myself  off  as  a 
Frenchman,  strongly  sympathizing  with  Irish  affairs, 
though  never  laying  any  claim  to  connection  with  the 
country.  Now  I  had  to  change  my  tactics  a  little,  and  so 
I  gradually  got  it  put  about  that  my  m.other  —  poor  lady, 
she  is  living  to-day,  and  will  probably  never  know  till  she 
reads  this  of  the  liberty  I  took  with  her  birthright  —  was 
of  Irish  descent.  Of  course,  as  the  people  out  there  had 
never  seen  or  heard  of  my  mother,  and  it  was  quite  a 
common  thing  for  French  and  Irish  to  intermarry,  the 
deception  was  not  likely  to  be  discovered,  as  indeed  it 
never  was. 

There  was  still  yet  another  reason  for  my  being  cau- 
tious. The  most  insane  and  implacable  enemy  of  O'Neill's 
—  and  through  my  friendship  for  O'Neill,  of  myself  — 
Major  William  M 'Williams,  of  old  Fenian  fame,  was  now 
high  in  the  councils  of  the  new  organization.  In  the 
O'Neill  regime,  presumably  jealous  of  my  position,  he  had 
denounced  me  as  an  adventurer,  and  the  ill-feeling  he  had 
for  me  had  culminated  during  the  sittings  of  a  Fenian 
congress  in  an  open  attack,  reported  in  the  New  York 
papers  as  follows  :  — 

"The  Fenian  Congress  and  a  Fenian  Row. 
"The  Fenian  Congress  was  in  session  yesterday.  A  quorum  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  appointed  in  Chicago  was  in  session  all  day.  They  say 
they  intend  to  commence  work  as  soon  as  they  obtain  possession  of  the  muni- 
tions of  war.  Major  M 'Williams  and  Major  Le  Caron,  two  of  the  delegates, 
had  a  little  onset  in  front  of  the  Whitney  House  last  eve,  and  blood  might 
have  flov/ed  had  it  not  been  for  the  interference  of  several  delegates." 

The  altercation,  I  may  add,  on  this  occasion  involved 
the  use  of  revolvers,  and  created  too  pronounced  a  feeling 


88  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

between  us  to  allow  of  my  ever  after  expecting  anything 
but  the  bitterest  opposition  from  M'Williams.  To  my  re- 
lief, however,  M'Williams  eventually  got  into  a  personal 
altercation  with  a  fiercer  antagonist  than  myself,  by  whom 
he  was  shot  in  Columbia,  S.C.,  being  killed  on  the  spot. 
His  exit  cleared  the  way  of  the  only  difficulty  which  ex- 
isted at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  so  I  considered  it  pru- 
dent to  accept  the  invitation,  often  extended  to  me,  to 
join  the  Clan-na-Gael.  I  joined,  and  an  appointment  upon 
the  Military  Board  of  the  organization  quickly  followed. 
It  must  not,  however,  be  thought  that  I  had  been  "  out  of 
things  "  meantime.  Not  at  all.  Possessed,  as  I  was,  of 
more  than  one  confiding  friend,  I  secured  information 
about  everything  that  took  place. 


XXIII. 

Slowly  but  surely  the  Clan-na-Gael  was  gaining  ground, 
despite  all  the  forces  arrayed  against  it.  Triumphing  over 
Church  opposition,  conscientious  scruple  on  the  score  of 
joining  secret  societies,  and  the  single  opposing  Revolu- 
tionary faction  still  faithful  to  the  memory  of  Stephens, 
it  had,  in  1876,  a  membership  exceeding  11,000,  which  in- 
cluded amongst  its  leading  names  those  of  Alexander  Sul- 
livan, John  Devoy,  O'Donovan  Rossa,  Thomas  Clarke 
Luby,  Thomas  F.  Burke,  Dr.  Carroll,  James  Reynolds, 
Frank  Agnew,  Colonel  Clingen,  Wm.  J.  Hynes,  R  W. 
Dunne,  Michael  Boland,  Denis  Feeley,  J.  J.  Breslin, 
Michael  Kirwen  and  General  Millen. 

These  were  the  men  who  in  the  after  years  were  to  be 
in  the  front  rank  of  the  Clan-na-Gael,  and  by  their  position 
and  influence  to  model  and  direct  the  policy  of  the  organ- 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  89 

ization.  Of  them  and  their  position  at  this  time  I  shall 
now  have  some  little  to  say. 

With  Sullivan  I  have  already  dealt,  and  here  I  need  only 
state  that,  having  established  himself  in  Chicago,  he  had 
taken  to  the  study  of  law,  in  which  branch  of  the  profes- 
sion he  was  now  —  in  1876  —  preparing  to  practise.  He 
had  been  maintaining  his  questionable  reputation,  for  he 
had  shot  a  man  in  cold  blood  ;  and  though  twice  tried,  had 
been  successful  in  escaping  the  consequences  of  his  act, 
owing  to  the  employing  of  that  process  so  frequently 
charged  against  the  Government  in  Ireland  —  packing  the 
jury.  Of  Devoy  and  O'Donovan  Rossa  I  have  also  spoken 
before.  The  former,  drifting  to  New  York,  had  since  we 
parted  with  him  been  engaged  on  some  two  or  three 
American  papers,  and  he  was  now,  if  I  remember  aright, 
engaged  on  the  Neiv  York  Herald  staff.  Rossa,  very 
much  to  the  front  for  the  moment,  in  consequence  of  his 
"skirmishing"  theory,  had  meantime  been  living  on  the 
proceeds  of  the  fund  raised  for  himself  and  his  fellow- 
exiles  on  their  arrival  in  1871,  and  a  special  subscription 
for  himself,  which  Ford  inaugurated  in  the  Irish  World. 
Luby  had  been  a  well-known  patriot  since  1865,  when,  in 
company  with  John  O'Leary  and  Charles  J.  Kickham,  he 
had  been  sentenced  to  a  long  term  of  penal  servitude  for 
the  part  he  played  in  Ireland  as  one  of  the  editors  of  the 
Irish  People.  General  Thomas  Fras.  Burke  had  served 
with  the  Confederate  Army,  and  had  been  amongst  those 
who,  in  1867,  left  America  to  lead  in  that  most  dishearten- 
ing of  fiascos,  the  Irish  rising  of  1865,  as  the  result  of  his 
part  in  which  he  was  sentenced  to  death,  but  subsequently 
amnestied. 

Dr.  William  Carroll,  one  of  the  principal  physicians  in 
Philadelphia,  whose  name  will  appear  prominently  in  the 


90  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

future,  and  who  stood  one  of  the  sponsors  for  Mr.  Parnell 
on  the  occasion  of  his  arrival  in  America,  was  best  known 
as  the  admirer,  friend,  and  associate  of  John  Mitchell,  and 
was  himself  nothing  if  not  a  Revolutionist.  James  Rey- 
nolds of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  whom  I  first  met  in  connec- 
tion with  the  secret  organization,  was  by  profession  a  gas- 
and  brass-fitter,  and  an  avowed  advocate  of  "  extreme " 
measures.  He  was  in  fact  a  member  of  the  Revolutionary 
Directory  of  this  period.  Frank  Agnew  had  a  Fenian 
record  extending  as  far  back  as  the  Senate  period  of  the 
Fenian  Brotherhood.  Strangely  enough,  I  first  came  in 
contact  with  him  when,  on  an  inspecting  tour,  I  had  oc- 
casion to  inspect  a  Fenian  Company  of  which  he  was  cap- 
tain in  Chicago.  He  was  one  of  those  who  arrived  too 
late  to  be  of  use  in  connection  with  the  Fenian  raid  of 
'70.  He  was  now  a  contractor  of  some  importance  in 
Chicago,  and  a  great  friend  and  ally  of  Sullivan's.  Of 
Colonel  Clingen  I  need  not  say  much,  save  that  he  had 
been  an  old  Fenian  ally  of  mine  in  days  gone  by,  and  had 
sat  with  myself  on  the  Military  Board  during  O'Neill's 
regime. 

Of  the  others  I  have  mentioned,  Hynes  and  Dunne 
perhaps  deserve  the  most  prominent  place,  by  reason  of 
the  part  they  have  recently  played  in  the  Cronin  affair. 
Both  these  men,  it  will  be  remembered,  came  out  as  very 
strong  opponents  of  Alexander  Sullivan,  whom  they 
roundly  accused  of  causing  Dr.  Cronin's  death.  Hynes 
I  knew  as  far  back  as  1865,  when,  as  a  clerk  to  John 
O'Neill,  he  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  work  of  the 
Fenian  Brotherhood.  Owing  to  a  row  between  O'Neill 
and  himself,  he  severed  his  connection  with  active  Fenian- 
ism,  and  obtained  a  clerkship  in  one  of  the  departments 
at  Washington^  finding   his  way,   after  a  little  time,  to 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


91 


Arkansas.  Although  returned  as  a  carpet-bag  Congress- 
man for  the  State,  he  failed  to  prosper,  and  at  last  he 
found  himself  without  a  dollar  in  Chicago.  Here  the  first 
man  to  help  him  was  Alexander  Sullivan,  against  whom 
he  is  now  arrayed.  Through  Sullivan's  political  influence, 
Hynes  was  engaged  as  professional  juryman  at  a  fee  of 
two  dollars  a  day,  from  which  position  he  worked  himself 
forward  to  that  of  a  prominent  politician  and  a  well-known 
member  of  the  bar  at  which  he  practises. 

P.  W.  Dunne  proved  to  be  a  duplicate  of  O'Donovan 
Rossa,  in  appearance  and  in  many  other  ways,  with  this 
one  strong  exception,  that,  whereas  Rossa  never  sacrificed 
any  of  his  means  for  the  good  of  his  countrymen,  but 
rather  lived  upon  them  in  fact,  Dunne  sacrificed  an  almost 
princely  fortune.  In  early  years  he  had  been  a  prominent 
distiller  (a  very  lucrative  business)  in  Peoria,  Illinois  ;  and 
he  was  one  of  the  leading  seceders  from  the  Stephens 
wing  of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood,  after  the  failure  of  1865, 
in  which  he  himself  participated,  in  company  with  P.  J. 
Meehan,  editor  of  the  Irish  Auierican,  He  was  now  situ- 
ated in  Chicago,  occupying  the  position  of  Superintendent 
of  Streets,  and  had  preceded  Sullivan  and  Clingen  upon 
the  Executive  of  the  Clan-na-Gael. 

As  for  the  remainder,  Poland,  once  a  lieutenant  in  the 
United  States  Army,  was  now  a  practising  lawyer  in  Ken- 
tucky, having  meantime  taken  part  in  the  '66  raid  on 
Canada.  He  was  also  one  of  the  most  prominent  of 
Clan-na-Gael  officials,  and  an  advocate  of  extreme  meas- 
ures. Feeley,  also  an  attorney-at-law,  had  been  a  member 
of  the  Royal  Irish  Constabulary  in  his  early  days,  and  was 
now,  as  of  yore,  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  blood- 
thirsty of  rebels  in  the  States.  Kirwen  had  been  Briga- 
dier-General  and    Fenian    Secretary  of  War  during   the 


92 


TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


Canadian  raid  of  1870,  and  had  preserved  his  Revolution- 
ary record  unbroken  ;  while  Breslin,  chiefly  remarkable 
for  the  part  he  had  played  in  helping  James  Stephens  to 
escape  from  Richmond  prison  (Ireland)  in  1866,  now,  as 
ever  since  then,  a  prominent  and  avowed  Revolutionist, 
was  occupying  his  public  life  in  some  municipal  office  of 
an  important  character,  while,  in  secret,  playing  his  part 
on  the  Revolutionary  Directory  of  the  Clan-na-Gael. 

One  name  I  have  left  to  the  last,  and  that  is  General 
Millen's.  The  discredited  hero  of  the  Jubilee  Explosion 
Scheme  of  1887  was  at  this  time  engaged  on  the  editorial 
staff  of  the  New  Yo7'k  Herald.  Unlike  almost  every  one 
whom  I  have  named,  his  military  title  was  neither  of 
Fenian  nor  of  American  extraction.  He  had,  according 
to  his  own  account,  gained  both  his  military  knowledge 
and  his  rank  when,  out  in  Mexico  on  the  part  of  the  Nezv 
Yo7'k  Herald,  he  had  thrown  in  his  lot  with  Juarez  prior 
to  the  overthrow  of  the  government  of  Maximilian  and 
the  establishment  of  the  First  Republic,  of  which  Juarez 
was  President.  Be  the  claims  to  military  knowledge 
which  he  advanced  good  or  bad,  they  were  accepted  with 
a  certain  amount  of  good  faith  by  the  Clan  leaders  ;  and 
his  usefulness  in  this  regard  being  appreciated,  he  held  a 
position  of  some  importance  at  this  time,  being  in  fact 
Chairman  of  the  Military  Board. 


XXIV. 

My  advent  in  the  organization,  though  gratifying  to  a 
certain  extent,  did  not  satisfy  me  as  fully  as  I  wished.  I 
wanted  to  know  everything  that  took  place  on  the  inner 
side  of  the  movement,  and   I  found  that,  as  one  of  the 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


93 


rank  and  file,  I  could  really  learn  nothing.  Accordingly, 
I  set  my  wits  to  work  to  see  how  I  could  accomplish  my 
desire  of  gaining  such  a  position  as  would  give  me  all  I 
wanted.  Very  little  consideration  was  needed  to  show  me 
that,  in  a  large  centre  like  Chicago,  where  jealousy  and 
ambition  governed  every  motive,  it  would  be  impossible 
for  a  new-comer  to  get  to  the  front,  and  so  I  decided  to 
work  out  my  designs  in  a  smaller  and  more  unimportant 
place,  where  internal  dissensions  would  find  little  if  any 
home.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Braidwood  was  the 
place  where  I  had  my  drug-store,  and  where  I  had  had 
strong  evidence  of  my  popularity  in  my  election  as  Super- 
visor by  a  majority  of  103  over  my  opponents.  In  the 
end,  therefore,  I  determined  to  establish  a  camp  in  Braid- 
wood,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  official  organizer,  a 
most  promising  ''  camp  "  was  got  together,  to  the  Senior 
Guardianship  or  Presidency  of  which  I  was  unanimously 
elected.  Sullivan  unconsciously  assisted  me  in  my  design. 
It  was  through  his  influence,  though  at  my  suggestion, 
that  the  official  organizer  was  sent  down  in  the  first 
instance. 

Having  once  obtained  the  position,  I  spared  neither 
pains  nor  money  to  make  myself  secure  in  it.  My  status 
and  extensive  practice  as  a  doctor  permitted  of  my  play- 
ing the  role  of  the  generous  patriot,  and  there  was  no 
subscription  list  on  which  my  name  did  not  figure  in  some 
capacity  as  the  patriotic,  political,  charitable,  or  religious 
friend.  The  latter  was  not  by  any  means  the  most  infre- 
quent, for  religion  of  a  certain  type  plays  a  very  large 
part  in  Irish  politics.  Where  money  and  the  other  arts 
failed,  then  I  took  to  diplomacy.  Year  in,  year  out,  I 
continued  president  of  my  camp,  though  always  at  election 
time  asking  to  be  allowed  to  retire  in  favor  of  some  better 


94  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

and  more  deserving  brother.  Of  course  it  was  simply  a 
case  of  "swearing  I  would  ne'er  consent,  consenting." 

I  was  too  useful  to  my  brothers  of  ''  Camp  463,"  now 
204,  to  allow  of  their  permitting  me  to  retire  to  the  ranks. 
If  no  other  reason  but  the  question  of  money  came  in, 
then  this  of  itself  alone  would  have  been  sufficient. 
When  a  delegate  had  to  be  despatched  to  conventions  or 
gatherings  elsewhere,  none  were  more  ready  to  start  than 
I,  while — more  important  still  for  the  patriots  —  my  bills 
for  expenses,  instead  of  being  of  the  large  and  unjustifia- 
ble character  usually  associated  with  such  proceedings, 
could  only  be  got  from  me  under  protest,  and  with  every 
manifestation  of  desire  to  save  them  outlay.  Of  course, 
this  travelling  about  from  centre  to  centre,  this  mixing 
with  many  men  from  many  points,  and  the  opportunities 
thus  afforded  for  gaining  information  and  opening  up  new 
sources  of  supply,  admirably  suited  my  purpose  ;  and  by 
taking  advantage  of  the  varied  openings  given  me,  I  was 
enabled  to  extend  my  usefulness  as  a  Secret  Service  agent 
to  a  very  appreciable  extent. 

Matters,  indeed,  were  satisfactorily  situated  for  me  at 
every  point.  As  senior  guardian  of  the  Braidwood  camp, 
I  was  in  receipt  of  every  document  issued  from  head- 
quarters, and  through  me  many  of  these  found  their  way  to 
Mr.  Anderson  on  the  English  side  of  the  water.  My  work 
in  connection  with  these  documents  taxed  all  my  powers  of 
resource ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  popular  and  trusted 
position  which  I  held,  I  could  have  accomplished  very  little 
in  regard  to  them.  A  stringent  regulation  of  the  Execu- 
tive required  that  all  documents  —  when  not  returned  to 
headquarters,  as  many  had  to  be  —  should  be  burned  in 
view  of  the  camp,  in  order  that  the  most  perfect  secrecy 
should  be  secured.     It  was,  of  course,  impossible  for  me 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  95 

to  retain  the  originals  of  those  whick  had  to  be  returned, 
and  of  them  I  could  only  keep  copies.  With  those  requir- 
ing destruction  in  the  presence  of  my  camp,  I  was  enabled 
to  act  differently.  Always  prepared  for  the  emergency,  I 
was,  by  a  sleight  of  hand  performance,  enabled  to  substi- 
tute old  and  unimportant  documents  for  those  which  really 
should  have  been  burnt,  and  to  retain  in  my  possession, 
and  subsequently  transmit  to  England,  the  originals  of  all 
the  most  important.  I  was,  of  course,  shaking  hands  with 
danger  and  discovery  at  every  turn,  and  yet  so  marvellous 
was  my  success  that  I  not  only  escaped  betrayal,  but  that 
which  would  undoubtedly  have  led  to  it,  namely,  suspicion. 
To  this  end,  I  was  much  assisted  by  the  confidence 
reposed  in  me  by  my  fellow-officials,  the  Junior  Guardians, 
who  exhibited  their  trust  to  the  extent  of  giving  me  pos- 
session of  their  keys  of  the  strong-box,  of  which  they 
held  possession  during  their  period  of  office.  This  con- 
tained all  the  papers  of  the  Camp  ;  and  with  a  view  to  its 
safety,  one  key  was  given  to  the  Senior  Guardian,  and 
the  other  to  the  Junior  Guardian,  the  locks  being  differ- 
ent in  construction,  so  that  the  box  could  only  be  opened 
by  the  concurrence  of  both  officials.  Had  I  not  been 
able  to  obtain  the  confidence  of  my  Junior  Guardians  to 
the  extent  of  possessing  their  keys,  I  could  never  have 
brought  my  designs  to  such  a  successful  issue.  Strangely 
enough,  when  I  appeared  in  the  witness-box  at  the  Com- 
mission —  for  I  was  even  then  Senior  Guardian  of  my 
Clan-na-Gael  camp  —  I  had  both  keys  of  our  strong-box  in 
my  possession,  which  I  jokingly  offered  to  Mr.  Houston 
as  a  memento  of  our  strange  and  unlooked-for  meeting. 


96  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


XXV. 

Meantime,  events  had  been  developing  themselves  in 
a  strange  and  unlooked-for  way.  O' Donovan  Rossa  — 
speaking  to  the  Irish  in  America  through  the  columns  of 
th.Q  Irish  World  —  had  advocated  the  establishment  of  a 
Skirmishing  Fund  in  the  following  style  :  — 

"  Five  thousand  dollars  will  have  to  be  collected  before  the  campaign  can 
be  started.  England  will  not  know  how  or  where  she  is  to  be  struck.  A 
successful  stroke  or  any  stroke  that  will  do  her  500,000  dollars  worth  of 
damage  will  bring  us  funds  enough  to  carry  on  the  work;  and  by  working 
on  incessantly  and  persistently,  the  patient  dirt  and  powder  shock  will  bring 
out  enough  perhaps  to  carry  on  \.he  war." 

In  the  same  issue  of  the  Irish  Worldy  Patrick  Ford,  in 
the  course  of  a  commendatory  article,  said,  — 

"  What  will  this  irregular  warfare  of  our  Irish  Skirmishers  effect?  It  will 
do  this  much.  It  will  harass  and  annoy  England.  It  will  help  to  create 
her  difficulty  and  hasten  our  opportunity.  It  will  not  only  annoy  England, 
but  will  hush  her  too.  This  is  what  we  look  for  from  Skirmishers.  One 
hundred  dollars  expended  on  skirmishing  may  cause  England  a  loss  of 
100,000,000  dollars.  That  would  be  a  damaging  blow  to  the  enemy;  and 
what  is  to  prevent  the  dealing  one  of  three  or  four  such  blows  every  year?  " 

Here  I  shall  drop  Rossa  and  his  Skirmishing  Fund  for 
the  moment,  to  say  a  few  words  about  Ford.  The  oppor- 
tunity seems  a  favorable  one  for  dealing  with  a  man 
whose  name  has  been  so  prominent  of  late  years,  and 
clearing  up  a  few  of  the  many  misconceptions  which 
appear  to  exist  regarding  him.  Like  O 'Donovan  Rossa, 
his  colleague  at  this  time  in  skirmishing  matters.  Ford's 
position  in  Irish  revolutionary  affairs  has  been  quite  mis- 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


97 


understood  in  British  quarters  outside  the  Parnellite 
party.  As  a  matter  of  fact  Ford  is  not,  and  never  has 
been,  a  member  of  the  Clan-na-Gael.  True  it  is  that  he 
was  a  member  of  the  old  Fenian  organizations  which  pre- 
ceded it  —  as,  for  instance,  the  Irish  Confederation,  but 
in  the  membership  of  the  last  and  most  powerful  of  all 
the  branches  of  the  Irish-American  conspiracy,  the  editor 
of  the  IiHsh  World  has  had  no  place.  The  secret  of  his 
position  and  influence  lies  in  his  paper.  This,  from  the 
very  moment  of  its  start,  has  been  a  pronounced  success, 
reaching  a  high-water  mark  of  influence  and  circulation, 
which  threw  the  puny  efforts  of  its  competitors  completely 
into  the  shade.  The  paper  came  into  existence  at  the 
proper  moment  for  itself  ;  it  was  well  edited,  well  printed, 
and  splendidly  equipped  with  news  from  every  quarter, 
and  on  every  point.  It  caught  the  public  fancy  and 
*'  went  "  amazingly.  Ford,  originally  a  printer  and  a  man 
of  no  mean  attainment,  gathered  round  him  a  staff  of 
equally  clever  writers,  established  correspondents  at  every 
important  centre,  and  working  at  very  high  pressure, 
was  on  the  point  of  failing  on  several  occasions,  only  to 
escape  through  the  assistance  of  friends,  politicians,  or 
capitalists,  willing  to  oblige  for  certain  considerations. 
Indeed,  if  I  am  not  very  much  in  error,  matters  are  not 
in  the  most  favorable  way  for  the  paper  at  this  very  time. 
Patrick  Ford,  according  to  Michael  Davitt,  is  a  most 
worthy  disciple  of  the  Christian  principles,  and  a  man 
whose  life  would  serve  as  a  model  for  very  many  of  those 
who  criticise  this  dynamite  advocate's  character  in  no 
enthusiastic  vein.  Speaking  of  the  man  simply  *^on  the 
view  "  as  the  American  phrase  has  it,  Davitt's  observa- 
tions are  not  so  far-fetched  as  they  would  appear  to  be  at 
the  first  blush.     In  appearance  and  manner,  the  editor  of 


98  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

the  Irish  World  is  quite  the  opposite  of  the  man  you 
would  figure  to  yourself  after  reading  his  dynamite  appeals 
and  exordiums  in  his  own  journal.  Quiet  and  unobtru- 
sive alike  in  look  and  speech,  he  is  as  mild  a  mannered 
man  as  ever  scuttled  a  ship.  Of  medium  height,  spare  of 
build  and  spare  of  feature,  without  any  ferocity  whatever 
marking  the  outer  man,  he  gives  the  observer  the  idea  of 
being  a  quiet,  sedate,  and  rather  retiring  business  person. 
Although  a  vigorous  and  effective  writer,  he  is  not  re- 
markable for  his  platform  utterances,  and  while  a  good 
talker,  is  by  no  means  an  orator. 

Associated  with  Patrick  Ford  in  his  connection  with 
Irish-American  affairs  have  been  his  brother  Augustine 
and  his  nephew  Austin.  Augustine,  whose  name  comes 
into  prominence  with  Rossa  in  the  Skirmishing  Fund 
affair,  was  the  publisher,  as  distinct  from  the  editor  of  the 
Irish  World ;  while  Austin,  then  a  young  fellow,  was 
afterwards  to  become  a  member  of  the  Clan-na-Gael,  and 
to  serve  as  the  medium  of  communication  between  the 
leaders  of  the  Revolutionary  organization  and  his  uncle, 
the  editor  of  what  was  undoubtedly,  though  unofficially, 
their  mouthpiece,  the  Irish  World.  There  were  many 
reasons  for  an  alliance,  unofficial  though  it  might  be, 
existing  between  the  Irish  World  and  those  charged  with 
the  conduct  of  the  vast  secret  conspiracy  known  to  the 
initiated  as  the  V.C.  For  what  the  Irish  World,  with  its 
extended  popularity,  its  great  influence,  and  its  enormous 
circulation,  championed  in  public,  the  Clan-na-Gael  worked 
for  in  private.  Ford  and  his  fellow-workers,  in  a  different 
path,  understood  each  other  full  well  ;  and  when,  within  a 
year  after  the  establishment  of  the  Skirmishing  Fund,  it 
became  desirable  that  the  Clan-na-Gael  should  take  charge 
of  it,  there  was  no  more  ardent  advocate  of  the  change 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


99 


than  he.  And  as  in  the  early,  so  in  the  later  years. 
When  the  new  departure  came  to  the  front,  Ford  and  his 
Clan-na-Gael  friends  were  of  the  same  mind  as  to  its  im- 
portance, and  the  necessity  for  supporting  it.  When 
dynamite  came  to  be  the  order  of  the  day,  he  was  its 
loud-tongued  apostle  ;  and  when,  later  still,  "  martyrs " 
like  Brady  and  Curley  suffered  in  Ireland  the  just  con- 
sequences of  their  fiendish  part  in  the  Phoenix  Park 
murders,  the  editor  of  the  Irish  World  wsls  first  to  fill  the 
gap  with  a  fund  on  behalf  of  their  families,  excluding 
from  its  benefits  all  connected  with  those  who  had  had 
the  good  sense,  though  bad  patriotism,  to  plead  "  guilty  " 
to  their  part  in  the  fell  transaction. 


XXVI. 

To  return,  however,  to  Rossa  and  his  Skirmishing 
Fund.  As  a  prominent  Fenian  of  "  the  old  guard,"  and 
a  member  of  the  Clan-na-Gael,  Rossa's  influence,  backed 
up  by  Ford's  advocacy,  succeeded  in  getting  together  no 
less  than  23,350  dollars  by  the  14th  March  following  the 
issue  of  the  appeal  —  in  something  less  than  twelve 
months  in  fact.  Although,  however,  this  large  sum  had 
been  accumulating  during  this  period,  and  portions  of  it 
had  been  ready  at  different  times  for  use  if  required,  no 
skirmishing  or  pretence  at  skirmishing  had  taken  place, 
and  some  little  dissatisfaction  commenced  to  manifest 
itself  at  the  non-fruition  of  the  many  promises  which  had 
been  held  out  of  ''hurting  England."  There  then  occurred 
the  transfer  of  the  fund  to  the  Clan-na-Gael  under  very 
mysterious  circumstances,  which  have  never  been  thor- 
oughly explained  or  understood.     The  nearest  approach 


lOO  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

to  an  explanation  was  afforded  by  a  communication  from 
Rossa,  which  appeared  in  the  Irish  World  of  the  21st 
April  1877,  which,  I  think,  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote 
here. 

"When  I  started  this  Skirmishing  Fund,  the  council-men  of  the  two 
Irish  revolutionary  societies  in  America  —  the  Fenian  Brotherhood  and  the 
Clan-na-Gael — took  it  into  their  heads  that  I  was  going  to  interfere  with  the 
regular  revolutionary  work,  that  I  was  going  to  play  the  deuce  with  every- 
thing, and  they  gave  me  no  friendly  help.  I  have  been  doing  all  I  could  to 
convince  them  that  I  am  not  the  very  desperate  character  I  was  in  prison  or 
out  of  prison;  and  some  six  months  ago,  being  telegraphed  to  visit  a  conven- 
tion of  one  of  those  societies,  I  went  there.  I  there  proposed  to  receive  into 
the  trusteeship  and  Executive  Council  of  the  Skirmishing  Fund  one  or  two  of 
their  body,  provided  that  the  one  or  two  meant  skirmishing  work  such  as  was 
laid  down  in  our  programme.  This  proposition  of  mine  was  accepted,  and 
all  passed  off  harmoniously. 


"Here  is  how  things  stand  now: — Mr.  James  J.  Clancy,  who  acted  as 
treasurer  of  the  fund,  got  married  a  few  weeks  ago  and  ceased  his  connection 
with  the  Irish  World.  Then  Austin  Ford  wrote  me  (on  14th  March)  the 
the  following  note :  — 

"  '  I  told  you  that,  at  a  certain  Irish  convention,  I  had  consented  to  admit 
to  the  trusteeship  of  the  fund  some  members  of  their  body.  They  gave  me 
several  names  to  select  from;  and  looking  about  for  men  who  meant  work,  I 
took  the  names  of  John  J.  Breslin,  who  rescued  the  Australian  prisoners,  and 
who  was  the  principal  actor  in  the  rescue  of  James  Stephens  in  1865:  of 
Doctor  William  Carroll,  of  Philadelphia,  who  left  his  professional  business 
(and  being  a  particular  friend  of  John  Mitchell),  came  to  New  York  when 
Mitchell  was  going  to  Ireland  two  years  ago,  went  on  board  the  steamer  to 
see  him  off,  went  on  the  steamer  with  him  to  Ireland,  having  no  other  idea  in 
his  head  but  to  take  care  of  him  The  other  name  I  took  was  that  of  James 
Reynolds  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  He  is  the  man  in  v/hose  name  the 
Catalpa  was  registered,  and  he  mortgaged  his  property  to  raise  $4,000,  when 
it  was  needed  at  a  crisis  in  connection  with  the  expedition.  Now  Mr.  Clancy 
and  Mr.  Ford  have  resigned,  I  have  in  connection  with  these  three  men  I 
have  mentioned  taken  into  the  trusteeship  John  Devoy,  Thomas  Clarke  Luby, 
and  Thomas  Francis  Bourke.' 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  10 1 

"Last  night  Thomas  Clarke  Luby  went  to  Washington,  carrying  with  him 
$17,500  in  American  bonds  indorsed  by  me,  to  have  them  transferred  for  safe 
keeping  to  the  names  of  Dr.  Carroll,  Thomas  C.  Luby,  John  Devoy,  Tom 
Bourke,  John  Breslin  and  James  Reynolds.  .  .  .  John  O'Mahony  died.  It 
was  deemed  well  to  send  his  remains  to  Ireland.  There  was  no  money  to 
bear  the  expenses.  I  thought  I  might  trespass  on  the  skirmishing  money.  I 
consulted  Mr.  Ford  and  Mr.  Clancy  about  a  loan.  They  said  it  could  be 
legitimately  looked  upon  as  within  the  pale  of  our  work,  and  they  paid  me 
$2,030  to  defray  the  expenses.  The  Clan-na-Gael  and  the  Fenian  Brother- 
hood have  promised  to  refund  the  money." 

No  secret  was  made  of  the  connection  which  now 
existed  between  the  ''trustees"  and  the  "fund,"  for  a 
public  address  was  issued  "to  the  Irish  people  in  the 
United  States,"  and  published  in  the  IrisJi  World  of  the 
2ist  April,  containing  the  following  passages:  — 

"But  since  the  'skirmishing'  project  was  first  announced,  circumstances 
have  greatly  altered.  .  .  .  Old  Europe  is  threatened  with  a  general  convul- 
sion. War  on  the  most  tremendous  scale  cannot  much  longer  be  staved  off 
by  all  the  artifices  and  subtleties  of  all  the  diplomatists  in  the  world. 
Russia  and  Turkey  are  equally  resolute  to  fight  the  inevitable  fight.  .  .  . 
The  rest  of  the  Great  Powers  of  Europe  will  be  drawn  by  an  irresistible 
force  into  the  arena.  England,  above  all,  whether  she  likes  it  or  not,  must 
draw  her  sv/ord  once  more  or  meanly  confess  herself  a  third-class  power. 
She  is  too  proud  of  the  part  to  yield  her  high  place  without  a  blow.  She 
must  first  be  beaten  to  her  knees. 

"England's  difficulty  then  has  all  but  come;  in  other  words,  'Ireland's 
opportunity.'     Is  Ireland  prepared  to  seize  that  opportunity?  .   .  . 

"In  view  of  the  altered  circumstances  of  the  time,  'big  with  fate  to  us 
and  ours,'  we  propose  to  enlarge  the  basis  of  the  'Skirmishing  Fund,'  estab- 
lished by  Rossa,  and  of  the  plans  it  was  intended  to  further.  We  propose 
forthwith  to  create  a  '  Special  National  Fund '  to  aid  the  work  of  Ireland's 
deliverance. 

"  Action,  some  may  think,  has  been  postponed  too  long.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  we  are  determined  to  lose  as  little  further  time  as  possible  ere  we  fur- 
nish our  countrymen  with  practical  results  of  our  work.  But  a  blow  must  be 
followed  up  by  blows.  Unhesitatingly  then  "  (they  ask  for)  "  the  means  to 
do  what  may  give  heart  and  inspiration  to  our  brothers  at  home,  and  prepare 
the  way  for  the  last  grand  struggle. 


102  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

..."  We  shall  only  add  that  it  is  plain  that  'the  Home  Rule  Agitation  * 
has  signally  failed  to  satisfy  the  yearnings  of  the  Irish  people.  The  O'Mahony 
funeral  demonstration,  with  its  deep  heroic  significance,  has  exercised  the 
vain  misleading  phantom.  Every  true  Irishman  in  Ireland  (and  shall  we  not 
say  in  America  too?)  once  more  believes  in  the  old  creed  of  our  gallant 
fathers  —  that  the  sole  way  to  free  or  regenerate  Ireland  is  by  total  separa- 
tion from  England;  and  that  total  separation  can  only  be  achieved  by 
desperate  sacrifices,  daring  enterprises,  and  the  strong  hand. 

"John  J.  Breslin, 

"Thomas  Clarke  Luby, 

"John  Devoy,  1-     New  York. 

"  Thomas  Francis  BouRKE, 

"Jer.  O'Donovan  Rossa, 

"Wm.  Carroll,  M.D.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

"James  Reynolds,  New  Haven,  Conn." 

The  names  of  the  trustees  will,  of  course,  be  familiar, 
as  being  amongst  those  regarding  whom  I  gave  some 
details  some  few  pages  back,  and  who  were  all  remarkable 
for  their  past  Fenian  records  and  present  prominence  in 
the  Clan-na-Gael  ranks. 


XXVII. 

While  the  Skirmishing  Fund  and  its  custodians  were 
engaging  public  attention  in  this  way,  the  secret  work  of 
the  organization  was  by  no  means  being  neglected.  The 
ordinary  work  of  shipping  arms  to  Ireland,  and  communi- 
cating with  the  sister  society  as  regards  members,  organ- 
ization, etc.,  was  conducted  with  regularity  and  precision  ; 
while  operations  of  an  extraordinary  character  were  in- 
dulged in  as  opportunity  offered.  Amongst  these  latter 
must  be  classed  the  negotiations,  commenced  about  this 
time,  for  an  alliance  between  the  Revolutionary  party  in 
America  and  the  Russian  Government.     Wild  and  absurd 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  IO3 

as  the  idea  may  at  first  appear,  it  is  nevertheless  an 
undoubted  fact  that  these  negotiations  were  not  alone 
started  in  sober  earnest,  but  they  were  in  the  end  finally 
completed  and  developed  to  the  stage  of  a  regular  diplo- 
matic compact  at  headquarters  in  Russia.  As  is  well 
known,  the  relations  between  England  and  Russia  were 
for  some  three  or  four  years  previous  to  1880  of  a  dis- 
tinctly strained  character,  and  war  at  many  times  ap- 
peared imminent.  Filled  with  the  idea  that  war  would 
actually  take  place,  the  Clan-na-Gael  Executive  caused 
overtures  to  be  made  to  the  representative  of  the  Russian 
Government,  proposing  that  they  in  America  should  fit 
out  privateers  which,  sailing  with  letters  of  marque  from 
Russia,  should  worry  English  vessels  and  assist  in  every 
way  possible  in  furthering  the  designs  of  Russia,  in  return 
for  which  Russia  should  pledge  assistance  to  the  Irish  in 
their  attempt  to  wrest  Ireland  from  English  domination. 

The  matter  assumed  the  proportions  of  a  really  serious 
proposal,  and  Dr.  William  Carroll,  of  Philadelphia,  about 
whom  I  have  already  spoken,  and  who  was  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  Skirmishing  Fund,  as  well  as  Chairman  of 
the  Executive  Body  of  the  Clan-na-Gael,  was  delegated 
by  the  Executive  to  represent  their  interests  in  the  nego- 
tiation. Dr.  Carroll,  through  the  assistance  of  Senator 
Jones  of  Florida,  was  placed  in  communication  with  the 
Russian  minister  at  Washington,  and  to  this  gentleman 
the  Clan-na-Gael  ambassador  represented  that  some  mil- 
lionnaires  —  the  names  of  two  were  mentioned  —  were  pre- 
pared to  subsidize  the  undertaking,  and  that  several 
points  had  been  fixed  upon  for  fitting  out  the  privateers, 
San  Francisco  being  notably  one  of  them.  So  satisfac- 
torily did  the  negotiations  progress  for  the  Clan-na-Gael 
people,  that  in  a  few  months  Dr.  Carroll  left  America  for 


I04  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

the  Russian  capital,  where,  it  was  subsequently  reported 
in  an  official  way,  the  treaty  between  the  Russian  Gov- 
ernment and  the  Revolutionary  organization  was  formally 
ratified. 

It  was  a  significant  fact  that  shortly  after  this  the  Rus- 
sian minister  at  Washington  was  recalled.  The  report  in 
the  official  ranks  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  was  that  the  proceed- 
ing was  the  result  of  an  action  taken  by  the  British  Gov- 
ernment in  consequence  of  what  had  occurred.  Of  course, 
regarding  this  view  of  the  occurrence,  as  far  as  I  can 
speak,  there  was  neither  definite  information  nor  proof. 

This  was  but  one  of  the  many  wild  schemes  indulged  in 
at  this  period.  Another  had  to  do  with  the  manufacture 
of  a  submarine  torpedo-boat,  with  which  it  was  intended 
to  inflict  terrific  damage  on  the  British  navy  under  water. 
After  one  failure,  the  boat  was  actually  built  at  the 
ship-yard  on  the  Jersey  side  of  the  North  River  at  a  cost 
of  some  37,000  dollars  ;  but  nothing  ever  came  of  it,  for  it 
was  apparently  completed  only  to  be  towed  to  New  Haven, 
where  it  lay,  and  where,  for  aught  I  know,  it  may  be  rot- 
ting at  the  present  day.  Its  principal  use,  as  far  as  I  could 
make  out,  was  in  supplying  a  certain  number  of  patriots, 
charsred  with  the  control  of  its  construction,  some  five 
dollars  a  day  each  as  recognition  for  their  invaluable  ser- 
vices. 

On  the  other  plots  and  schemes  I  can  only  touch  in  the 
lightest  possible  way.  They  included  the  assassination  of 
Queen  Victoria,  the  kidnapping  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  or 
Prince  Arthur,  an  attack  on  Portland  Prison,  with  the 
rescue  of  Michael  Davitt  therefrom,  and  a  hundred  and 
one  odd  schemes  in  which  Dhuleep  Singh,  General  Carroll 
Thevis,  Alyward,  and  other  soldiers  of  fortune  or  discon- 
tent all  figured. 


IN   THE   SECRET  SERVICE.  105 


XXVIII. 

The  month  of  September  'j'^  was  remarkable  for  the 
arrival  in  America  of  Michael  Davitt.  He  had  been  re- 
leased from  Portland  Prison  on  ticket-of-leave  several 
months  previously,  and  having  travelled  through  Ireland 
in  the  mean  time,  now  came  to  the  States  with  the  ostensi- 
ble object  of  lecturing.  This  first  visit  of  his  differed  from 
the  second  one  paid  in  1880  by  reason  of  the  change  which 
his  opinions  underwent  in  the  interval.  When  in  Septem- 
ber 1878  Davitt  landed  in  America  to  be  met  by  Devoy 
and  others,  and  welcomed  in  an  effusive  address,  he  took 
pains,  in  replying,  to  state  he  was  still  faithful  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  youth,  for  which  he  had  suffered  imprison- 
ment, and  that  the  dungeon  had  not  changed  his  political 
convictions  in  the  least.  Apparently  not,  for  during  his 
visit  Davitt  put  in  an  appearance  at  several  Clan-na-Gael 
camps,  and  took  part  in  their  proceedings  as  a  duly  accred- 
ited brother  and  representative.  Contact  with  Devoy, 
however,  and  with  the  theories  on  the  subject  of  the  ''  New 
Departure,"  to  which  Devoy  at  this  time  was  giving  promi- 
nence, must  have  changed  Davitt's  views  somewhat,  for 
references  to  past  principles,  life-long  convictions,  etc., 
soon  made  way  for  pleasant  pictures  and  prophecies  of  the 
development  known  as  the  ''New  Departure,"  which  was 
at  last  to  bring  the  Irish  political  plotter  within  sight  of 
his  Mecca. 

There  is  no  need  for  me  at  this  late  day  to  deal  at  any 
great  length  with  what  has  since  been  known  as  the  "New 
Departure."     It  proved  to  be  nothing  more  or  less  than 


I06  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

the  scheme  which  found  its  development  and  outcome  in 
the  Parnellite  movement,  viz.,  the  bringing  together  the 
two  forces  of  Irish  discontent  —  the  Constitutional  and 
the  Revolutionary  sections  —  and,  while  allying  them  for 
strategic  and  financial  purposes,  yet  so  arranging  the  com- 
pact that  each  was  allowed  to  work  in  its  own  way  for  the 
accomplishment  of  the  object  which  all  had  in  view  —  the 
repeal  of  the  Union  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

The  exact  terms  of  the  treaty  or  alliance  proposed  by 
the  American  Fenians,  after  consultation  with  Davitt, 
were  set  forth  in  a  cable  sent  to  Mr.  Parnell  by  Devoy 
and  some  of  his  fellow-trustees  of  the  Skirmishing  Fund 
in  the  month  of  October  1878,  at  a  time  indeed  while 
Davitt  was  still  in  the  country.  As  the  cable  has  a  historic 
interest,  I  will  quote  it  in  full  here  :  — 

*'  The  Nationalists  here  will  support  you  on  the  following  conditions: — 

*'  First,  abandonment  of  the  federal  demand,  and  substitution  of  a  general 
declaration  in  favor  of  self-government. 

*'  Second,  vigorous  agitation  of  the  Land  Question  on  the  basis  of  a 
peasant  proprietary,  while  accepting  concessions  tending  to  abolish  arbitrary 
evictions. 

"Third,  exclusion  of  all  sectarian  issues  from  the  platform. 

"  Fourth,  Irish  members  to  vote  together  on  all  imperial  and  home  ques- 
tions, adopt  an  aggressive  policy,  and  energetically  resist  coercive  legislation. 

"  Fifth,  advocacy  of  all  struggling  nationalities  in  the  British  Empire  and 
elsewhere." 

Following  up  this  proposal,  to  which,  by  the  way,  no 
direct  public  reply  was  ever  given,  there  appeared  in  the 
press  letters  from  John  Devoy  advocating  the  new  move 
in  arguments  which  I  think  I  can  best  summarize  by  using 
the  following  extracts  from  one  of  his  epistles  :  — 

"  The  question  whether  the  advanced  Irish  National  party  —  the  party  of 
separation — should  continue  the  policy  of  isolation  from  the  public  life  of 
the  country,  which  was  inaugurated  some  twenty  years  ago  by  James  Stephens 


JN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  107 

and  his  associates,  or  return  to  older  methods  —  methods  as  old  at  least  as  the 
days  of  the  United  Irishman  —  is  agitating  the  minds  of  Irish  Nationalists 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  just  now;  and  certainly  no  simiHar  incident  has 
aroused  such  wide  discussion  in  Ireland  for  many  a  day  as  the  publication  of 
the  views  of  the  exiled  Nationalists  resident  in  New  York  on  the  subject. 

"  The  object  aimed  at  by  the  Irish  National  party,  the  recovery  of  Ire- 
land's national  independence,  and  the  severance  of  all  political  connection 
with  England,  is  one  that  would  require  the  utmost  efforts  and  the  greatest 
sacrifices  on  the  part  of  the  whole  Irish  people.  ...  I  am  not  one  of  those 
who  despair  of  Ireland's  freedom,  and  am  as  much  in  favor  of  continuing  the 
struggle  to-day  as  some  of  those  who  talk  loudest  against  constitutional  agita- 
tion. I  am  convinced  that  the  whole  Irish  people  can  be  enlisted  in  an  effort 
to  free  their  native  land,  and  that  they  have  within  themselves  the  power  to 
overcome  all  obstacles  in  their  way.  ...  I  am  also  convinced  that  one  sec- 
tion of  the  people  alone  can  never  win  independence;  and  no  political  party, 
no  matter  how  devoted  or  determined,  can  ever  win  the  support  of  the  whole 
people  if  they  never  come  before  the  public,  and  take  no  part  in  the  everyday 
life  of  the  country.  I  have  often  said  it  before,  and  I  repeat  it  now  again, 
that  a  mere  conspiracy  will  never  free  Ireland.  I  am  not  arguing  against 
conspiracy,  but  only  pointing  out  the  necessity  of  Irish  Nationalists  taking 
whatever  public  action  for  the  advancement  of  the  National  cause  they  may 
find  within  their  reach,  such  action  as  will  place  the  aims  and  objects  of  the 
National  party  in  a  more  favorable  light  before  the  world,  and  help  to  win 
the  support  of  the  Irish  people." 


XXIX. 

While  the  ball  was  thus  rolling  in  this  way,  Davitt 
completed  his  tour  in  America,  and  returned  to  Ireland  to 
resume  his  work  there.  He  did  not  return  alone  however, 
for  in  his  wake  there  travelled  his  new  colleague,  Devoy, 
who,  journeying  as  one  of  the  secret  agents  of  the  Clan- 
na-Gael,  went  to  Ireland  to  inspect  and  report  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  Revolutionary  organization  there  to  the  V.C. 
Convention,  to  be  held  in  Wilkesbarre,  Pennsylvania,  in 
July  1879.  Associated  with  Devoy  in  this  work  of  inspec- 
tion was  General  Millen,  acting  in  the  capacity  of  military 


I08  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

envoy.  Devoy,  while  in  Ireland,  made  good  use  of  his 
time.  While  he  organized  the  Irish  Republican  Brother- 
hood in  their  secret  meetings,  he  openly  advocated  the 
proposed  alliance  with  all  his  might  and  main.  In  Ireland, 
however,  as  the  report  which  he  afterwards  made  to  the 
Clan-na-Gael  showed,  the  Fenians  were  not  so  ripe  as  his 
colleagues  in  America  for  giving  up,  even  temporarily, 
their  secret  methods  for  constitutional  agitation  ;  and  the 
work  which  he  was  to  accomplish  was  not  destined  to  bear 
too  early  fruit. 

As  the  report  which  Devoy  presented  of  the  visit  thus 
made  gave  an  interesting  account  of  how  matters  stood  in 
Fenian  circles  there  at  this  period,  I  give  a  few  extracts. 
They  are  important  as  showing  the  condition  of  the  Rev- 
olutionary forces,  which  gave  Mr.  Parnell  so  much  trouble 
a  year  or  two  later,  when,  through  me,  he  appealed  to 
Devoy  to  come  over  and  cripple  the  opposition  he  was 
receiving  from  this  quarter  :  — 

"Three  of  the  best  organized  counties  —  Dublin,  Louth,  and  Wexford  — 
seceded  from  the  S.C.  (Supreme  Council  or  Executive  of  the  Irish  Republi- 
can Brotherhood),  and  believing  the  statements  so  often  repeated,  that  the 
American  organization  supported  Mr.  Stephens,  transferred  their  allegiance 
to  that  gentleman.  There  still  remained  with  the  S.C.  (Supreme  Council), 
Ulster,  Connaught,  Munster,  a  portion  of  Leinster,  Scotland,  and  South  of 
England;  but  the  work  in  these  districts  was  almost  paralyzed,  and  the  atten- 
tion of  the  men  distracted  by  repeated  visits  and  communications  of  a  conflict- 
ing nature  from  contending  factions,  who  all  claimed  to  be  *  working  for 
Ireland.'  The  numbers  stood  at  this  time  (1878)  as  follows: — About 
19,000  men  stood  by  the  S.C,  some  3,000  acted  independently  in  the  North 
of  England,  and  not  more  than  1,500  chiefly  in  Leinster,  followed  Mr. 
Stephens.  No  real  work  could  be  done;  it  was  a  struggle  for  existence,  and 
ultimately  the  majority  prevailed.  When  your  former  envoy  arrived  in  Ire- 
land, this  was  the  state  of  things  he  found  existing.  As  you  have  been 
informed,  he  succeeded,  with  the  help  of  another  member  of  the  V.C.  resid- 
ing in  Ireland,  in  first  gaining  over  the  Leinster  men  to  the  S.C,  by  telling 
them  the  real  truth  about  the  state  of  things  in  America. 


IN   THE   SECRET  SERVICE.  109 


**  A  reorganization  of  the  S.C.  satisfactory  to  all  parties  concerned  was 
then  effected,  and  an  efficient  secretary  elected,  who  has  since  then  ren- 
dered invaluable  service  in  repairing  the  damage  done  during  the  short 
period  of  turmoil  and  contention.  Some  years  before  the  organization  had 
been  a  compact  body  of  over  40,000  men,  acting  under  its  elected  council, 
and  making  commendable  efforts  to  arm  its  members  in  spite  of  the  most 
discouraging  difficulties.  At  the  beginning  of  last  year,  after  the  S.C.  had 
triumphed  over  the  difficulties  above  mentioned,  it  was  reduced  to  about 
24,000  men,  the  confidence  of  many  of  its  members  greatly  shaken,  and  much 
of  the  material  accumulated  during  past  years  badly  damaged  through  neglect 
or  entirely  lost. 

"It  was  deemed  better  to  endeavor  to  weld  into  a  solid  mass  the  united 
fragments  than  to  increase  its  size  by  the  addition  of  new  members.  Some 
mistakes  were  made,  but,  upon  the  whole,  the  action  of  the  S.C.  seemed 
to  me  judicious  and  safe.  Some  17,000  dollars  had  been  sent  by  the  F.C. 
(10,000  dollars  came  from  the  National  Fund  for  arms)  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
troducing arms  into  the  country;  but  it  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  R.D.  until 
my  arrival,  in  the  belief  that  the  machinery  of  the  movement  had  undergone 
too  great  a  strain  to  be  able  to  bear  much  pressure,  and  the  hands  of  the  S.C. 
were  too  full  with  the  work  of  restoration  to  allow  them  to  undertake  any 
more.  The  organization  was  just  beginning  to  breathe  a  little  freely,  and  to 
feel  that  it  was  again  a  solid  living  body,  when  I  arrived  to  confer  with  the 
S.C.  as  to  the  best  means  to  infuse  new  life  and  vigor  into  it. 


'*  I  began  with  Tipperary,  Limerick,  and  Clare,  and  continued  my  tour 
till  I  had  a  fair  idea  of  the  condition  of  the  organization  in  all  of  the  seven 
provinces.  .  .  .  Besides  county  and  circle  meetings,  I  attended  provincial 
conventions  in  Munster,  Ulster,  Connaught,  North  of  England,  and  South  of 
England,  and  local  district  meetings  in  Dublin,  Cork,  Limerick,  Derr>', 
Ennis,  Glasgow,  Dundalk,  and  other  towns. 

"  When  Leinster  and  Munster  shall  have  been  thoroughly  reorganized, 
which  will  take  some  time,  I  hope  to  see  50,000  good  members  in  Ireland 
alone,  and  I  should  not  care  to  see  many  more.  In  Ulster,  Connaught,  Tip- 
perary, and  Clare  the  great  bulk  of  the  men  are  small  farmers  or  farmers' 
sons,  and,  on  the  whole,  there  is  a  much  better  representation  than  in  '65. 
I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  report  also  the  presence  in  the  organization,  and  in 
positions  of  trust,  of  a  few  of  the  smaller  landed  gentry,  a  few  professional 
men,  and  a  large  sprinkling  of  comfortable  business  men. 


I  10  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

Nothing  calls  for  further  attention  in  connection  with 
this  visit  of  Devoy  and  Millen  to  Ireland,  beyond  the  fact 
that  the  expenses  of  it  were  defrayed  out  of  a  sum  of 
10,000  dollars  taken  from  the  Skirmishing  Fund  for  the 
purpose.  Nor  need  I  speak  in  any  detail  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Wilkesbarre  Convention  to  which  the  delegates 
reported.  There  was  no  incident  connected  therewith 
which  calls  for  any  special  mention,  as  particularly  affect- 
ing events  at  this  period. 


XXX. 

Though  lacking  official  recognition  and  support,  the 
scheme  of  the  ''  New  Departure  "  was  creating  a  good 
deal  of  enthusiasm  throughout  the  ranks  of  the  Gaels  ; 
and  the  reports  which  continued  to  come  from  Ireland  as 
to  the  condition  of  the  Land  Question  kept  the  matter 
fully  alive.  The  arrival,  too,  of  Mr.  Parnell  in  New  York 
in  the  month  of  January  1880  gave  a  fresh  impetus  to  the 
whole  thing.  And  whatever  doubt  had  heretofore  existed 
as  to  the  possibility  of  working  the  new  move,  and  making 
it  subservient  to  the  requirements  of  the  Revolutionary 
organization,  took  immediate  flight  after  a  week's  expe- 
rience of  Mr.  Parnell  in  America.  In  the  view  of  the 
conspirators  scattered  throughout  the  States,  Mr.  Parnell 
had  given  himself  over,  body  and  soul,  to  the  chiefs  of  the 
Clan-na-Gael.  At  every  point,  under  every  circumstance, 
without  a  single  exception,  well-known  and  trusted  men 
of  the  secret  councils  were  by  his  side  and  at  his  elbow, 
pushing  him  forward  into  prominence  here,  bespeaking  a 
welcome  for  him  there,  and  answering  for  his  thorough 
fealty  to  the  grand  old  cause  at  all  manner  of  times.     Nor 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  Ill 

did  his  own  utterances  leave  any  room  for  question. 
Brimful  of  references  of  deep  meaning,  and  constantly  lit 
up  with  the  flashing  of  bayonets  and  rattling  of  musketry, 
his  speeches  breathed  the  sounds  of  war  and  the  policy  of 
the  hill-side  in  every  note,  till  men  listening  to  his  accents 
thought  that  at  last  the  hour  and  the  man  had  come. 
Poor  fools  !  They  knew  not  that  his  enthusiasm  was  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  dollar,  or  its  equivalent  in  English  coin 
when  totted  up  to  ^40,000,  and  his  only  weapon  the  House 
of  Commons  lie  ! 

Mr.  Parnell's  efforts  in  America  to  collect  funds  for  the 
famine-stricken  Irish — this  was  the  ostensible  object  of 
his  visit  — were  cut  short  by  the  general  election  which 
took  place  in  Ireland  in  the  spring  of  1880,  and  he  left 
hurriedly,  but  not  before  he  had  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  Land  League,  and  played  into  the  hands  of  the  secret 
conspirators  by  giving  them  a  very  leading  share  in  its 
control.  Exit  therefore  Mr.  Parnell  to  give  way  to 
Michael  Davitt,  and  enter  Mr.  Davitt  once  more  on  the 
American  stage  in  quite  a  new  role.  Flushed  with  the 
triumphs  of  his  recent  proceedings  in  Ireland  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Land  League  organization,  and  the  posi- 
tion he  had  suddenly  sprung  into,  he  now  came  out  as  a 
Constitutionalist  pure  and  simple.  There  were  no  more 
visits  to  Clan-na-Gael  camps,  for  the  time  at  least.  All 
was  open  and  above  board.  He  had  his  fad  ;  that  fad 
was  the  Land  League  ;  and  his  fad  was  to  win  in  the 
political  race,  hands  down.  No  matter  where  he  went,  it 
was  the  same  story.  Travelling  Braidwood-way  in  order 
to  lecture  in  my  district,  he  spent  three  days  in  my  com- 
pany, part  of  which  time  he  was  my  guest,  and  fell  ill  on 
my  hands,  when  I  honestly  and  successfully  ministered  to 
his  needs.     In  our  intercourse  at  this  period  we  had  many 


112  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

talks  over  the  situation,  and  with  me,  as  with  everybody 
else,  he  could  only  speak  of  the  new  movement.  At  his 
request,  I  told  him  the  whole  story  of  the  second  Canadian 
raid;  and  so  great  was  his  enthusiasm  in  his  new  r^J/^, 
that  he  seized  upon  the  fiasco  I  related  as  yet  another 
proof  for  me  of  the  utter  impossibility  of  doing  anything 
m  the  way  of  active  operations.  Amused  and  interested, 
I  watched  the  dark  determined  face  glowing  with  light 
and  enthusiasm,  and  wondered  within  me  how  long  this 
born  conspirator  would  be  content  to  walk  in  the  tram- 
mels of  a  truly  constitutional  path.  The  opportunity, 
however,  was  too  good  to  be  neglected,  and  I  improved  it 
by  getting  some  very  useful  information  unawares  from 
my  patient  and  guest. 

I  was  quite  an  conmnt  with  Land  League  matters,  for 
as  an  official  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  I  had  been  instructed  to 
develop  the  movement  in  my  district,  which  I  accordingly 
did,  following  the  usual  practice  of  enrolling  my  colleagues 
of  the  Clan-na-Gacl  as  members  of  the  League  Branch, 
and  thus  keeping  the  control  in  our  own  hands.  At 
public  meetings  held  in  favor  of  the  open  movement  —  it 
will  be  noted  I  speak  of  the  Land  League  as  the  "  open," 
and  the  Clan-na-Gael  as  the  "  secret  "  movement  —  I  fre- 
quently presided,  and  when  the  occasion  arose,  introduced 
Davitt  and  Devoy. 

XXXL 

So  matters  progressed  and  developed,  the  only  impor- 
tant incident  of  the  interval  being  the  discovery  that 
James  J.  O'Kelly,  late  M.P.  for  Roscommon,  after  being 
despatched  by  the  Revolutionary  Directory  of  the  Clan- 
na-Gael  to  England  with  moneys  to  attend  to  the  shipping 


/A-   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  II3 

of  arms  to  Ireland,  had  thrown  in  his  lot  with  the  advo- 
cates of  the  New  Departure  in  Ireland,  and  been  returned 
to  Parliament  with  the  funds  placed  at  his  disposal  by  the 
Revolutionary  chiefs  in  New  York.  This,  of  course,  was 
not  the  only  occasion  on  which  the  moneys  subscribed  for 
blov/ing  up  England  went  to  subsidize  the  New  Departure. 
Davitt  and  Devoy  had  both  drawn  upon  them  to  a  large 
extent,  though  Davitt  conscientiously  paid  every  farthing 
of  his  share  back  in  1882. 

In  the  month  of  November  1880,  John  Devoy  issued 
a  very  peculiar  circular  to  the  Senior  Guardians  of  the 
V.C,  or  Clan-na-Gael  camps,  which  was  remarkable  as 
showing  how  loyal  after  all  this  author  of  the  New  Depart- 
ure was  to  the  methods  of  revolutionary  work,  and  how 
he  regarded  the  Land  League  but  as  the  stepping-stone 
to  more  decisive  things.     This  is  how  he  put  the  matter  :  — 

"  P.  O.  Box  4,  479. 

New  York,  N'ovember  i,  1880. 

"Dear  Sir  and  Brother,  —  I  propose  to  give  a  course  of  lectures 
this  winter  of  the  subject  of  'The  Irish  National  Cause  and  the  Present 
Crisis,'  with  a  view  to  stirring  up  our  people  here  and  increasing  the  resources 
of  the  National  movement.  I  will  stipulate  beforehand  that  the  proceeds 
shall  either  go  to  the  Revolutionary  Fund  of  the  V.C.  or  to  the  National 
Fund,  so  that  we  may  be  better  prepared  to  meet  any  emergency  that  may  be 
forced  upon  us  by  England,  While  believing  that  all  our  efforts  should  be 
directed  to  restraining  the  people  in  Ireland  from  any  premature  insurrection- 
ary movement,  I  think  the  excitement  at  home  should  be  utilized  for  the  pur- 
pose of  procuring  the  funds  necessary  to  enable  the  National  party  to  complete 
the  preparations  for  the  struggle  for  independence.  The  titne  for  that  struggle 
must  be  selected  by  us  and  not  by  England;  but  one  must  not  forget  that  our 
hand  may  be  forced  in  spite  of  all  our  endeavors;  and  it  therefore  behooves 
us  to  commence  stirring  up  our  people  in  America  now.  I  think  the  Land 
League  has  now  money  enough  for  present  purposes,  and  that  the  state  of 
things  prevailing  in  Ireland  demands  that  all  money  that  can  be  got  from  our 
people  here  should  be  devoted  to  revolutionary  purposes.  I  am  convinced, 
in  fact,  that  the  doing  of  this  is  the  best  help  we  can  at  present  give  the  Land 


114  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

League.  The  prosecutions  have  already  given  the  agitation  a  more  decidedly 
national  tone.  Let  us  help  to  broaden  it  into  a  truly  national  movement,  and 
make  it  serviceable  to  the  cause  of  independence. 

"  If  you  agree  with  this  view  of  the  situation,  I  should  be  glad  to  receive 
your  assistance  in  organizing  lectures  in  your  v\c\r\\X.y ,  provided  yotcr  doing  so 
•would  not  be  detri?nental  to  the  interests  of  the  V.  C. 

•*  I  intend  to  begin  in  the  New  England  States,  then  to  go  through  a  por- 
tion of  New  York  State  and  Pemea,  and  thence  west.  Communicate  to  the 
P.O.  Box  mentioned.  —  Fraternally  yours, 

John  Devoy." 

I  was  only  too  willing  to  arrange  for  such  a  lecture  as 
Devoy  wanted,  for  thereby  I  should  be  bringing  Devoy 
and  myself  into  contact,  with  every  probability  of  getting 
useful  information.  Accordingly,  Devoy  lectured  for  me 
somewhere  about  January  or  February  '8 1,  and  during  his 
stay  visited  and  addressed  my  camp.  He  made  a  visit  of 
some  three  or  four  days  to  my  district,  and  as  I  had  hoped 
and  anticipated,  we  had  many  and  long  confidential  chats 
together.  The  position  of  affairs  was  fully  discussed. 
Devoy  was  very  pronounced  in  his  views  about  money 
subscribed  for  Land  League  purposes.  What  had  been 
only  hinted  at  in  his  letter,  he  gave  very  plain  utterance 
to  in  his  speech.  The  money  subscribed  for  the  Land 
League  he  contended  should  not  all  go  for  bread,  and  in  this 
connection  he  outlined  to  me  the  ideas  of  the  Revolution- 
ary Directory  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  (of  which  he  was  a 
member)  at  this  time.  These  were,  to  put  it  shortly,  to 
strike  and  damage  the  British  Government  where  and 
when  they  could.  ''The  organization  on  this  side,"  said 
he,  meaning  America,  "have  agreed  to  furnish  the  means, 
and  the  organization  in  Ireland  have  signified  their  will- 
ingness to  carry  out  a  system  of  warfare,  characterized  by 
all  the  rigors  of  Nihilism." 

All,  however,  was   not  plain  sailing  to  him,  and   with 


IN   THE   SECRET  SERVICE. 


u; 


amazing  frankness  he  explained  to  me  what  his  fears 
were.  There  was,  he  admitted,  no  possibility  of  a  rising, 
as  the  leaders  in  Ireland  were  all  against  such  a  move- 
ment in  the  weak  condition  in  which  the  organization  was. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  all  attempts  made  to  restrain  the 
fire-eating  elements  would  be  met  with  failure,  unless 
something  practical  was  done.  The  attitude  of  Rossa 
and  his  followers  had  also  to  be  considered.  If  no  active 
work  was  done,  some  of  our  best  men  would  flock  to 
Rossa's  standard  and  so  weaken  the  organization  (Rossa, 
I  should  explain,  had  by  this  time  taken  up  an  indepen- 
dent attitude,  and  was  working  in  connection  with  the 
fragments  that  remained  of  the  old  Fenian  Brotherhood). 
It  was  thoroughly  understood  that  work  had  been  done 
by  Rossa's  emissaries  or  rather  some  of  them  ;  hence  the 
danger.  The  name  of  Boynton,  whom  I  did  not  know  at 
the  time,  but  who  was,  as  I  learnt,  a  brother  of  Boynton 
the  swimmer,  engaged  as  a  League  organizer  in  Ireland, 
then  came  up,  and  I  was  informed  that  Boynton  was  one 
of  those  occupied  in  developing  the  new  policy.  By  this 
I  mean  active  warfare  aux  Clan-na-Gael  as  distinct  from 
the  constitutional  work  openly  advocated  by  the  Land 
League.  Devoy  remarked  regarding  this  active  policy 
that  it  was  being  well  looked  after,  but  would  take  time  to 
complete. 

Devoy's  confidences  were  in  fact  most  exhaustive,  and 
enabled  me  to  send  quite  an  interesting  budget  by  the 
next  mail  to  Mr.  Anderson.  I  learnt,  as  a  further  item  of 
news,  that  much  trouble  was  being  experienced  in  keep- 
ing the  I.  R.  B.  (the  sister  society)  men  in  some  parts  of 
Ireland,  notably  in  Mayo,  where  they  had  the  best  organi- 
zation and  most  arms,  from  making  what  Devoy  described 
as  **  fools  of  themselves."     He,  it  appeared,  feared  attacks 


114.  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

on  the  military  when  the  latter  were  attending  evictions. 
This  striking  interview  between  the  Clan-na-Gael  leader 
and  the  Secret  Service  agent  concluded  with  the  important 
announcement  on  the  part  of  the  former  that  he  had  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  Mr.  Parnell,  through  a  friend,  in  which 
Mr.  Parnell  stated  he  was  exasperated  and  was  willing  to 
do  anything.  He  (Mr.  Parnell)  had  agreed  to  the  calling 
of  the  1882  convention,  and  to  its  being  a  National  move- 
ment convention ;  and,  in  conclusion,  Devoy  said,  per- 
sonally, Mr.  Parnell's  personal  attitude  towards  the 
National  {i.e.,  Revolutionary)  party  was  well  and  satis- 
factorily understood. 

This  was,  indeed,  a  time  of  confidences  with  me.  I  had 
communications  with  Alexander  Sullivan  and  Meledy 
within  a  very  short  period  from  this,  and  from  them  — 
Sullivan  being  one  of  the  Executive,  and  Meledy  a  leading 
member  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  —  I  learnt,  though  at  differ- 
ent times,  that  a  new  plan,  of  campaign  was  coming  into 
force,  nothing  more  or  less  indeed  than  one  of  cold-blooded 
murder  and  destruction.  It  appeared  that  a  man  called 
Wheeler  had  invented  a  new  hand  grenade,  and  had  offered 
a  supply  to  the  organization.  They  were  of  such  a  port- 
able character  as  to  be  easily  carried  in  a  satchel,  and 
were  especially  adapted  for  the  purpose  in  view.  Meledy 
told  me  he  had  offered  to  take  part  in  the  work  of  placing 
them  in  Ireland  and  England. 

The  significance  of  the  matter  was  lost  upon  me  at  the 
time,  but  was  fully  appreciated  by  me  later  on,  when  I 
learnt  of  the  informer  Carey's  evidence  in  connection 
with  the  Phoenix  Park  murders  and  the  Invincible  con- 
spiracy, in  the  course  of  which  he  confessed  that  he  and 
his  confederates  had  arranged  to  kill  Earl  Cowper,  the 
Lord-Lieutenant  of   Ireland,  by  a  hand   bomb  just  per- 


IN   THE  SECRE7'  SERVICE.  I17 

fected  in  the  organization,  which  could  be  easily  thrown 
from  a  window  in  a  house  in  Cork  Hill,  Dublin,  which 
they  had  selected  for  the  purpose. 


XXXII. 

My  private  affairs  permitted  of  my  taking  a  holiday  in 
the  early  part  of  the  year  1881,  and  so  I  determined  to 
make  a  trip  to  Europe.  Happening  to  communicate  my 
intention  to  my  old  friend,  Colonel  Clingen,  now  the  com- 
mander of  the  Clan-na-Gael  guards  in  Chicago,  and  a  very 
prominent  member  of  the  organization,  he  gave  me  to  un- 
derstand that  the  Executive  would  avail  themselves  of  my 
journey  to  send  by  me  documents  which  could  not  be 
trusted  to  the  mails.  Nothing  could  have  suited  me  bet- 
ter, and  I  willingly  consented  to  be  of  any  service  I  possi- 
bly could.  Devoy,  it  subsequently  transpired,  was  the 
correspondent  whose  communications  I  was  to  convey,  and 
by  an  arrangement  of  Clingen's  a  meeting  took  place  be- 
tween Devoy  and  myself  at  the  Palmer  House,  Chicago, 
in  the  month  of  March  1881.  Devoy  on  this  occasion 
handed  me  sealed  packets  addressed  to  John  O'Leary  and 
Patrick  Egan  in  Paris.  O'Leary  was  then  regarded  as  the 
representative  agent  and  official  means  of  communication 
between  the  Clan-na-Gael  and  the  Irish  Republican  Broth- 
erhood in  Ireland  ;  Egan  was  the  treasurer  and  accredited 
representative  of  the  Irish  Land  League. 

Journeying  by  way  of  Liverpool,  I  reached  England 
on  the  1 2th  of  April  1881,  and  stopping  in  London  in 
order  to  see  Mr.  Anderson  and  show  him  the  packets,  as 
well  as  to  receive  instructions,  I  eventually  travelled  to 
Paris.     On  arrival  there   I  drove  to  the  Hotel  Brighton. 


Il8  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

where  I  had  learned  Egan  was  located,  and  where  I  deter- 
mined to  take  up  my  abode.  The  first  person  I  met  with 
in  the  hotel  was  Egan  himself.  He  was  coming  down  the 
stairs  in  view  of  me,  as  I  asked  for  him,  in  company  with 
Mrs.  A.  M.  Sullivan  (wife  of  the  late  M.P.),  both  being 
bound  for  the  opera,  where,  on  their  invitation,  I  subse- 
quently joined  them.  I  made  myself  known  to  Egan  at 
once,  only  to  find  of  course  that  he  had  received  some 
hint  of  my  coming,  and  was  quite  expecting  me. 

As  I  washed  and  prepared  to  take  myself  to  the  opera,  to 
see  some  more  of  this  strange  man,  I  endeavored  to  recall 
his  appearance,  and  to  see  how  far  he  fitted  in  with  the  idea 
I  already  held  regarding  him.  A  man  of  bright  cheery 
presence,  stout  build,  and  jovial  look  and  voice,  the  latter 
very  marked  in  its  Irish  accent,  with  bright  laughing  eyes 
and  warm  handshake  and  a  closely  cut  head  of  tawny  hair, 
he  was  the  last  person  in  the  world  you  would  take  for  a 
deep  conspirator,  and  a  constructer  of  murder.  I  was 
puzzled  and  bewildered  —  I  could  not  make  it  out ;  and  so 
giving  up  all  thought  of  trying  to  read  the  man's  character 
on  the  outward  view,  I  determined  I  should  leave  my 
further  studies  in  this  direction  to  a  later  date  and  go  and 
enjoy  the  opera,  which  I  did. 

The  next  morning  saw  me  en  route  for  the  residence  of 
John  O'Leary,  to  whom  I  wished  to  deliver  my  second 
packet  without  delay.  I  discovered  him  without  much 
difficulty  in  his  abode  at  the  Hotel  de  la  Couronne,  in  the 
Quartier  Latin.  I  found  the  old  man  surrounded  by  his 
books  and  manuscripts,  and  from  his  appearance  more  fit 
for  the  patient  secluded  life  of  the  student  than  the  troub- 
lous career  of  the  rebel.  Seated  in  his  room,  and  gazing 
affectionately  on  his  different  treasures  of  old  and  rare 
editions,  he  seemed  to   have  little   in   common  with  my 


IN  THE   SECRET  SERVICE.  II9 

friends  of  the  Clan.  Yet  I  found  him  fully  posted,  and 
as  keen  to  talk  with  me  as  possible.  At  first  somewhat 
suspicious  and  uncertain  in  his  manner,  he  gradually  lost 
his  appearance  of  distrust,  and  in  the  end  gossiped  with 
me  quite  freely.  As  he  opened  Devoy's  packet  in  my 
presence,  I  was  enabled  to  discover  that  I  had  been  the 
bearer  of  a  very  long  document,  with  an  enclosure,  to 
which  he  paid  great  heed. 

From  the  very  start  I  found  O'Leary  opposed  to  the 
"  active  "  policy.  He  was  as  strong  and  bitter  an  oppo- 
nent of  the  murderous  idea  as  one  could  wish  to  meet  ; 
and,  unlike  Irish  patriots  in  general,  he  was  not  without 
the  courage  of  his  convictions.  He  showed  me  a  copy  of 
the  Dublin  IrisJinian  (the  unfortunate  Pigott's  paper),  of 
some  date  in  the  month  previous,  containing  a  letter  over 
his  signature,  denouncing  all  secret  warfare.  In  fact,  so 
far  did  this  really  honest  patriot  go,  that  he  refused  in  his 
official  capacity  to  take  any  responsibility  for  expenditure 
in  connection  with  the  "active  "  policy.  While  condemn- 
ing such  methods,  however,  he  avowed  himself  in  full 
accord  with  an  open  insurrectionary  movement ;  and  he 
spoke  in  the  bitterest  terms  of  the  way  in  which  J.  J. 
O'Kelly  and  others  had  played  false,  while  acting  as  paid 
members  of  the  organization.  Another  point  in  connec- 
tion with  our  talks  was  the  opposition  shown  by  O'Leary 
to  the  Parnellite  alliance.  He  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  such  a  joining  of  forces  as  was  proposed,  and  he  was 
all  against  laixing  up  the  honest  rebel  movement  with  one 
which  was    in  his  opinion,  worthy  of  great  distrust. 

I  enjoyed  my  talks  with  O'Leary  because  in  him  I  found 
a  fine,  h  jnest,  fearless  spirit.  The  man  was  old  and  gray, 
with  furrowed  brow  and  stooped  figure,  the  result  of  his 
long  confinement   in  English  prisons.      There  was  little 


120  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

about  him  then  to  remind  one  of  the  bright-eyed  daring 
prisoner  who,  fifteen  years  before,  had,  from  the  dock  of 
a  Dublin  court-house,  hurled  defiance  at  judge,  jury,  and 
Government  alike  ;  but  there  still  remained  with  him  the 
same  fearlessness  of  tone  and  honesty  of  conviction  which 
marked  him  out  then,  as  now,  a  prince  amongst  his  fellows 
of  the  Irish  conspiracy. 


XXXIII. 

In  strong  contrast  to  O'Leary  was  another  old  Irish 
rebel  whose  acquaintance  I  made  in  Paris  for  the  first  time. 
He  was  a  man  whose  name  was  familiar  to  me  as  a  house- 
hold word,  but  with  whom  I  had  never  before  been  brought 
directly  into  contact.  I  speak  of  James  Stephens,  the 
leader  with  whose  name  it  was  at  one  time  possible  to  con- 
jure in  Ireland,  who  had  been  the  head  and  front  of  the 
Fenian  Brotherhood  in  Ireland  in  1865,  whose  word  was 
law  to  its  sworn  thousands,  and  who,  after  making  his 
escape  from  Richmond  Bridewell  in  Dublin,  ended  his 
inglorious  public  career  by  an  unromantic  exit  in  petti- 
coats. Curious  being  that  he  was,  he  inspired  feelings  of 
the  sincerest  affection  on  the  part  of  his  immediate  fol- 
lowers ;  and  there  were  few  things  that,  in  their  regard  for 
him,  they  would  not  seek  to  accomplish  on  his  behalf. 

His  escape  from  Richmond  Prison,  attended  with  tre- 
mendous risk  as  it  was  for  all  concerned,  was  a  case  in 
point ;  and  as  it  is  a  matter  about  which  present-day  folk 
remember  little  if  anything,  I  feel  tempted  to  give  the 
story  in  the  old  man's  words,  as  he  told  it  to  me. 

"The  two  brave  men,  "  said  he,  "brave  men  anc  true, 
who  were  instrumental  in  releasing  me  were  J.  J.  Breslhi  and 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  121 

Daniel  Byrne.  Breslin  was  a  man  of  great  expediency,  or  he 
never  could  have  procured  the  impression  of  the  key  which 
opened  my  cell,  and  which  was  hung  on  a  nail  in  the  Gov- 
ernor's safe.  He  had  to  distract  the  Governor's  attention  ; 
steal  the  key,  putting  another  in  its  place;  get  the  impres- 
sion, and  then  return  the  key  to  its  proper  place  again. 
The  most  singular  circumstance  connected  with  my  escape 
was  that  while  Kickham,  who  was  deaf,  occupied  the  cell 
an  my  right,  M'Leod,  a  thief,  was  in  the  cell  on  my  left. 
A  gong  was  placed  in  his  cell  communicating  with  the 
Governor's  office,  in  order  to  allow  of  his  giving  the  alarm 
if  necessary  ;  and  he  could  not  have  helped  hearing  me  get 
out,  when  Breslin  and  Byrne,  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, stood  beside  my  cell.  He  did  hear  me  ;  but  that  thief, 
base  as  he  was,  was  not  base  enough  to  sell  me  to  the 
British  Government.  But  then  my  trouble  began.  We 
had  onl}'  a  few  minutes  to  do  our  work  in.  It  was  pitch 
dark,  and  the  storm  howled  furiously.  The  ladder  pro- 
vided for  my  scaling  the  wall  proved  too  short.  Breslin, 
who  was  chief  hospital  warden,  and  Byrne,  who  was  night- 
watchman  and  "lock  up,  "  were  armed  with  two  revolvers 
each.  They  had  also  provided  for  me.  Our  intention  was 
to  fight,  if  discovered,  until  killed. 

"  The  short  ladder  nearly  proved  fatal.  I  could  not  reach 
the  top  of  the  wall,  which  was  twenty  feet  high,  so  Byrne 
got  a  table  out  of  the  dining-room  and  placed  the  ladder 
upon  it.  Even  then  it  was  too  short.  I  had  to  come 
down  again.  Breslin  was  fairly  wild.  Another  table  was 
procured,  and  again  I  tried.  After  a  dreadful  struggle,  I 
succeeded  in  getting  outside  of  the  wall.  It  was  no  joke 
to  jump  twenty  feet  into  the  darkness.  I  had  to  do  it, 
however,  or  be  caught.  Breslin  gave  me  directions  where 
to  go  if  I  did  not  break  my  neck  in  falling  ;   and  he  and 


122  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

Byrne  returned  to  their  duty.  I  let  go  my  hold,  and 
down  I  went,  fortunately  falling  on  soft  ground. 

**  My  directions  were  to  follow  a  gravel  walk  (for  I  was 
in  a  garden)  until  I  came  to  another  wall  twenty  feet 
high,  where  I  was  to  throw  a  stone  over  as  a  signal  to 
eleven  men,  all  armed,  who  were  waiting  outside  to 
receive  me. 

"  I  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  the  walk,  and  could  get 
no  stone  of  any  size  in  the  dark.  At  last  I  reached  the 
garden  wall,  and  threw  over  a  handful  of  gravel.  A  rope 
with  a  weight  attached  was  thrown  over  the  wall.  I 
climbed  up  by  its  aid,  and  soon  found  myself  in  the  arms 
of  my  body-guard.  We  embraced  with  joy,  and  I  soon 
made  them  disperse.  I  went  to  a  house  in  sight  of  the 
jail,  and  remained  there  fourteen  days.  I  afterwards  went 
to  a  fashionable  boarding-house  in  the  finest  part  of 
Dublin  and  stayed  two  months.  I  left  Dublin  in  the 
brigantine  Coficord,  in  company  with  Flood  and  Kelly,  on 
the  1 2th  of  March,  and  landed  in  Ardrossan  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  15th." 

Poor  Stephens  now  lives  in  his  humble  garret  in  Paris, 
an  exile  broken  in  fortune,  health,  and  hope,  smoking  his 
short  black  pipe  and  brooding  over  these  days  that  are 
no  more. 

XXXIV. 

All  this  time  Egan  and  I  had  been  constantlv  to- 
gether. My  desire  was,  of  course,  to  make  a  study  cf  the 
man,  and  to  get  to  know  as  much  about  him  as  I  possibly 
could.  Everything  played  into  my  hands.  Egan  was 
ignorant  both  of  the  geography  and  the  language  of  the 
French  capital,  and  he  very  largely  availed  himself  of  the 


IN    THE   SECRET  SERVICE.  I  23 

help  which  I  was  enabled  to  render  him,  as  the  result  of 
my  supposed  French  nationality  and  knowledge  of  the 
city.  My  position,  altogether,  was  a  very  pleasant  one  at 
this  period.  Egan  lived  in  a  most  extravagant  fashion, 
and  as  he  would  pay  for  everything  and  would  not  allow 
me  to  share  in  any  outlay,  I  had  the  best  of  all  things 
without  any  strain  on  my  pocket  whatever.  He  fre- 
quented the  most  expensive  cafes,  had  the  choicest  of 
dishes,  would  only  be  content  with  the  best  boxes  at 
places  of  entertainment,  and,  in  a  word,  spent  his  money 
right  royally.  The  information  should  be  pleasant  read- 
ing for  the  poor  dupes  in  America  and  Ireland  who  sub- 
scribed the  funds  over  which  he  was  then  presiding. 

We  cemented  a  strong  friendship,  and  I  was  with  him 
almost  at  all  times.  I  made  a  point  of  being  in  his  rooms 
when  his  letters  arrived,  and  he  was  certainly  very  frank 
and  open  in  acquainting  me  with  their  contents.  As  a 
result,  I  obtained  full  and  accurate  information  as  to  the 
position  and  progress  of  affairs  in  Ireland  during  my  stay. 
There  was  not  the  faintest  shadow  of  a  suggestion  of 
secrecy  between  us  as  to  our  attitude  towards  Revolu- 
tionary matters.  I  remember  well  on  one  occasion  Egan 
summing  up  his  own  position  in  these  words  —  which  I 
noted  at  the  time — "I  am  a  Land  I>eaguer,  and  some- 
thing else  when  the  opportunity  presents  itself."  He 
boasted  to  me  of  his  having  been  the  backbone  of  the 
Fenian  organization  in  Dublin  for  many  years,  and  ad- 
mitted the  fact,  with  which  I  was  acquainted,  that  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Supreme  Council  or  executive  body 
there. 

In  our  talks  on  Revolutionary  organizations,  I  found 
Egan  an  enthusiastic  advocate  of  the  ''active"  policy 
spoken  of  by  Devoy,  and  he  heartily  entered  into  a  dis- 


124  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

cussion  with  me  as  to  the  ways  and  means  of  carrying  it 
out.  In  this  connection  reference  was  made  to  Mr.  Par- 
nell,  and  he  assured  me  most  emphatically  that  "  Parnell 
was  all  right  as  a  Revolutionist."  In  support  of  this  state- 
ment he  cited  the  fact  that  some  twelve  months  pre- 
viously Mr.  Parnell  sought  admission  into  the  ranks  of 
the  Irish  Revolutionary  Brotherhood,  but  was  refused. 
'* Parnell,"  remarked  Egan  with  a  wise  look,  ''thought  a 
good  deal  of  the  organization,  but  it  was  not  then  in 
a  flourishing  condition,  and  we  thought  he  would  think  a 
great  deal  more  of  it  by  being  on  the  outside  rather  than 
in  it." 

Our  conversations  naturally  tended  in  the  direction  of 
finance  ;  and  when  the  topic  cropped  up,  Egan  dealt  with 
it  in  no  nervous  spirit,  regarding  me  as  quite  a  worthy 
recipient  of  his  confidence.  About  this  time  a  demand 
was  being  made  for  a  public  audit  of  the  accounts  of  the 
League.  He  explained  that  an  audit  committee  of  three 
members  of  the  League  had  already  gone  over  his  books, 
and  this  w^as  all  the  audit  that  could  possibly  take  place. 
His  reasons  for  such  a  strong  statement  were  very  frankly 
given.  A  public  audit  would,  he  said,  be  the  very  thing 
Dublin  Castle  —  meaning  the  Irish  Government  —  would 
like  to  have,  but  this  was  out  of  the  question.  It  was 
impossible  for  him  to  make  public  many  of  the  items  of 
his  expenditure !  I  laughed  to  myself  as  he  said  this, 
wondering  whether  the  expenses  of  our  many  extravagant 
trips  about  Paris  came  under  this  head. 

But  he  was  dealing  with  far  more  dangerous  matters. 
He  stated  explicitly,  in  a  very  significant  way,  that  the 
money  had  been  used  for  other  purposes  than  those  of 
constitutional  agitation.  Amongst  these  sources  of  out- 
lay were  the  expenses  of  the  Dutch  officers  from  Amster- 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  I  25 

dam  to  assist  the  Boers  in  their  revolt  against  British 
control  in  South  Africa ;  and  coming  nearer  home,  the 
varied  expenditure  in  connection  with  parties  attached 
to  the  Irish  Republican  Brotherhood  in  Ireland.  Alto- 
gether our  talks  on  this  branch  of  the  subject  enlightened 
me  on  many  points,  and  supplied  me  with  sufficient  mate- 
rial to  form  a  fixed  belief  in  my  mind  that  his  idea,  at 
least,  was  identical  with  that  held  in  the  States  —  that 
the  opening  agitation  was  but  a  branch  of  the  movement 
to  obtain  the  separation  of  Ireland  from  England. 

I  use  the  phrase  ''  his  idea,"  but  to  be  really  accurate  I 
should  say  ''their  idea,"  for  Egan  always  spoke  on  behalf 
of  his  colleagues  —  with  one  exception,  which  I  can  recall 
—  and  represented  that  a  complete  harmony  of  view  pre- 
vailed. And  in  everything  that  happened  subsequently 
during  my  stay  in  England,  I  found  this  representation  of 
his  sustained  by  fact,  save  the  single  exception  of  which 
I  speak  —  namely,  in  the  case  of  Mr.  A.  M.  Sullivan.  I 
had  not  long  to  wait  for  an  opportunity  of  putting  the 
statement  to  the  test  as  far  as  several  of  the  M.P.'s  were 
concerned  ;  for  very  shortly  after  this  conversation,  Egan 
and  I  travelled  to  London,  and  by  him  I  was  introduced 
into  the  House  of  Commons,  and  to  several  Irish  M.P.'s, 
with  the  significant  description  "one  of  our  friends  from 
America."  I  well  remember  that  amongst  those  I  first 
met  in  this  way  was  Mr.  Parnejl  himself,  from  whom  I  re- 
ceived a  very  warm  greeting.  On  this  occasion  I  was 
accommodated  with  a  seat  under  the  gallery  of  the  House. 
This  was  but  one  of  several  visits  I  paid  to  the  House -at 
this  time,  in  the  course  of  which  I  constantly  came  in 
contact  with  Egan.  When  alone  I  generally  sent  in  my 
card  to  Mr.  Parnell,  and  he  obtained  the  necessary  admis- 
sion for  me,  much  to  his  disgust,  I  am  sure,  when  a  later 


126  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

day  came  and  I  put  in  an  appearance  in  the  witness-box  of 
Probate  Court  No.  i,  London. 

At  every  point  I,  of  course,  made  careful  notes  of 
what  occurred,  and,  either  verbally  or  in  writing,  reported 
them  to  my  chief,  so  that  the  Government  were  not  really 
so  deplorably  ignorant  as  the  Parnellites  then  proudly 
hoped  and  believed.  In  fact,  no  single  occurrence  of 
importance  with  which  Egan  became  acquainted  —  and 
he  really  knew  everything,  and  kept  nothing  back  from 
me  —  was  delayed  by  one  single  post  from  headquarters 
at  the  Home  Office  in  London.  To  resume,  however. 
After  this  first  visit  to  London,  Egan  and  I  returned  to 
Paris  by  different  routes,  and  on  arriving  there  the  same 
close  intercourse  prevailed  between  us,  I  had  not  been 
very  long  back,  when  Egan  informed  me  that  Mr.  Parnell 
had  written  him  expressing  a  very  strong  desire  to  see  me 
before  my  return  to  America.  Nothing  loth,  I  promised 
to  call  upon  the  Irish  leader  when  next  in  London,  and  I 
duly  carried  out  my  promise. 


XXXV. 

Making  my  way  down  to  the  House  on  the  occasion  of 
my  next  appearance  in  London,  I  obtained  admission  to 
the  Lobby  —  admission  was  then  an  easier  matter  than 
now — and  encountered  Mr.  J.  J.  O'Kelly  in  my  search 
for  Mr.  Parnell.  The  late  envoy  of  the  Clan-na-Gael,  who, 
unfaithful  to  his  trust,  had  got  into  Parliament  with 
skirmishing  money  instead  of  attending  to  the  shipping 
of  arms  for  ''active  "  work,  had  a  long  chat  with  me  over 
the  situation,  before  the  Irish  leader  put  in  an  appear- 
ance.    While  we  talked  in  this  way,  O'Kelly  complained 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


127 


bitterly  of  the  opposition  which  the  open  or  constitu- 
tional movement  known  as  the  Land  League  was  still 
receiving  from  the  Irish  Republican  Brotherhood  or  secret 
organization  in  Ireland,  and  he  stoutly  advocated  coercion 
on  the  part  of  the  directors  of  the  American  branch  of 
the  conspiracy  in  order  to  bring  the  Irish  malecontents 
into  line. 

His  remarks,  however,  were  cut  short  by  the  appear- 
ance of  Mr.  Parnell,  who,  leading  the  way,  conducted  us 
to  a  corridor  outside  the  Library  of  the  House,  where  an 
interview  of  over  an  hour  took  place,  O'Kelly  remaining 
for  a  little  until  the,  conversation  was  well  under  way. 
O'Kelly,  while  he  remained,  did  almost  all  the  talking. 
His  remarks  were  a  repetition  of  what  he  had  already  said 
to  me  in  private.  When  he  left,  Mr.  Parnell  adopted  the 
same  line  of  complaint,  speaking  in  lov/  tones,  as  we 
walked  up  and  down  the  corridor,  to  prevent  any  one 
being  continually  within  ear-shot.  I  was  told  detectives 
were  watching  us,  and  that  spies  held  a  place  in  every  cor- 
ner. As  I  afterwards  learnt,  the  statement  was  not  with- 
out foundation,  for  every  movement  of  myself  and  my 
companion  was  noted,  with  details  as  regards  time,  and 
duly  reported  to  Government  officials  within  twenty-four 
hours. 

The  whole  matter,  said  Mr.  Parnell,  following  up 
O'Kelly's  remarks,  rested  in  our  hands  in  America.  We 
had  the  money,  he  said,  and  if  we  stopped  the  supplies 
the  home  organization  would  act  as  desired.  He  expressed 
his  belief  that  Devoy  could  do  more  than  any  one  else  to 
bring  about  a  clear  understanding  and  alliance  ;  and  he 
commissioned  me  to  use  my  influence  with  Devoy,  and 
to  arrange  for  his  presence  in  Paris  at  as  early  a  date  as 
possible.     So  anxious  was  he  to  bring  Devoy  over  that  he 


128  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

undertook  to  pay  all  his  expenses.  Still  speaking  in  this 
connection,  he  asked  me  to  at  once  proceed  from  New- 
York,  after  seeing  Devoy,  to  other  prominent  members  of 
the  organization,  mentioning  particularly  the  names  of 
Alexander  Sullivan  and  William  J.  Hynes,  the  presence 
of  either  of  whom,  upon  this  side  of  the  water,  he  desired 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  about  a  thorough  understand- 
ing and  complete  harmony  of  working.  Special  reference 
was  also  made  to  Dr.  William  Carroll  of  Philadelphia,  and 
his  attitude  towards  the  open  movement.  Dr.  Carroll,  I 
may  here  explain,  had  been  elected  Chairman  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Body  at  the  Wilkesbarre  Convention  of  1879,  t)ut 
had  resigned  in  1880  in  consequence  of  his  opposition  to 
the  way  in  which  the  New  Departure  was  being  worked, 
and  the  treatment  he  received.  This  was  the  same  Dr. 
Carroll  who  had  spent  the  previous  year  in  Europe,  hav- 
ing been  specially  charged  with  the  carriage  of  negotia- 
tions between  the  V.C.  and  the  Russian  Government. 

After  arranging  these  matters  with  me,  Mr.  Parnell  en- 
tered into  details  regarding  the  position  of  the  Irish  Ques- 
tion at  this  time.  His  remarks  on  this  point  were  a 
veritable  bomb-shell  to  me.  He  started  off  by  stating  that 
he  had  long  since  ceased  to  believe  that  anything  but  the 
force  of  arms  would  accomplish  the  final  redemption  of 
Ireland.  He  saw  no  reason  why,  when  we  were  fully  pre- 
pared, an  open  insurrectionary  movement  could  not  be 
brought  about.  He  went  carefully  into  the  question  of 
resources  and  necessaries.  He  stated  what  the  League 
could  furnish  in  the  way  of  men  and  money,  and  informed 
me  as  to  the  assistance  which  he  looked  for  from  the 
American  organization.  He  spoke  of  having  in  the 
League  Treasury  at  the  end  of  that  year  an  available  sum 
of  ;^  100,000.     He  discussed  with  me  the  details  of  the 


IN   THE   SECRET  SERVICE. 


129 


position  occupied  by  the- home  and  American  Rcvolutioii 
ary  organizations,  and  defended  the  American  policy  for 
the  time  being.      I   parted   with  him^  with  the  assurance 
that  I  would  do  all  he  wished. 

The  interview  had  certainly  proved  a  startling  one  for 
me  ;  and  as  I  proceeded  to  my  seat  under  the  gallery  of 
the  House,  I  pondered  over  the  manner  and  method  of 
my  late  companion,  to  discover,  if  I  could,  any  incident 
in  the  course  of  our  hour's  talk  which  would  materially 
affect  all  that  he  had  said.  But  there  was  none.  The 
manner  of  the  League  chief  had  been  grave  and  impas- 
sive, as  was  his  wont  ;  he  had  been  business-like  all 
through  ;  there  was  no  uncertainty,  no  indistinctness  in 
his  utterance.  He  had  certainly  made  a  plunge,  but  it 
was  a  plunge  taken  with  all  deliberation  and  premedita- 
tion. I  went  over  all  the  points  in  my  own  mind  again, 
carefully  impressed  them  on  my  memory,  and  took  my 
seat  in  the  house  beside  General  Roberts,  with  whom  I 
had  an  interesting  talk  in  an  undertone,  and  to  whom  I 
pointed  out  some  of  the  celebrities  on  both  sides.  If 
I  remember  aright,  it  was  the  occasion  of  a  vote  of  thanks 
to  General. Roberts  for  his  march  on  Candahar ;  and  when 
the  vote  had  been  recorded,  a  large  number  of  members 
crowded  round  to  speak  to  him,  whereupon  I  left. 

Reaching  the  street,  I  called  a  hansom  at  once,  and  late 
hour  though  it  was,  I  drove  direct  to  Mr.  Anderson's 
private  house  in  order  to  acquaint  him  with  what  had  hap- 
pened, while  the  facts  were  fresh  in  my  memory.  Care- 
fully I  went  into  every  detail,  and  as  carefully  Mr.  Ander- 
son followed,  taking  a  note  as  I  went  along  of  the 
principal  points.  The  early  dawn  had  crept  upon  us  ere 
my  report  was  finished,  and  concluding  at  last,  I  took  my 
departure  to  lose  no  time  in  getting  that  sleep  for  which  I 


130  TIVENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

commenced  to  pine,  and  which   I  considered  I  had  very 
fairly  earned. 

XXXVI. 

I  SAW  Mr.  Parnell  once  more.  This  was  when  I  went 
to  say  good-by  to  him.  I  found  him  in  the  tea-room  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  as  cordial  as  ever.  Indeed, 
he  was  particularly  agreeable  on  this  occasion,  presenting 
me  with  a  photograph  of  himself,  on  which  he  wrote, 
*'  Yours  very  truly,  Charles  S.  Parnell."  I  kept  this 
as  an  interesting  souvenir  for  a  long  time,  but  had  to 
surrender  it  at  last  to  the  Special  Commission,  amongst 
the  records  of  which  it  now  finds  its  resting-place.  Soon 
after  I  left  London  for  Ireland,  not,  however,  before  I  had 
seen  a  good  deal  of  Egan,  and  spent  several  pleasant 
evenings  in  his  company,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  A.  M,  Sulli- 
van, M.P.,  who  now,  poor  man  !  is  no  more.  I  well 
remember  Egan's  impressing  upon  me  the  necessity  for 
my  covering  my  revolutionary  sentiments  whenever  Mr. 
Sullivan  was  near.  It  would  never  do,  I  was  told,  to  talk 
of  revolutionary  matters,  for  he  was  ultramontane.  This 
advice  I  followed,  noting  the  fact  in  my  own  mind  to  Mr. 
Sullivan's  credit. 

Talented,  witty,  and  brilliant,  Mr.  Sullivan  made  a 
magnificent  raconteur.  Even  now  I  can  recall  many  of 
his  happy  efforts  which  would  well  bear  reproduction,  I 
shall  not,  however,  yield  to  the  temptation  of  bringing 
them  in  here,  but  will  content  myself  with  recalling  one 
pleasant  story  told  about  the  irrepressible  Mr.  Biggar. 
Mr.  Biggar,  as  I  was  informed  by  way  of  preface,  was 
known  as  the  great  objector  and  "  counter-out,"  sometimes, 
sad  to  relate,  moving  that  the  House  be  counted  when  it 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  I31 

was  not  to  the  interests  of  the  party  to  take  any  notice  of 
the  want  of  a  quorum.  Very  pious  in  disposition,  he 
rarely  failed  to  attend  early  mass,  in  spite  of  late  sittings 
and  consequent  fatigue.  One  morning  Mr.  Biggar,  fatigued 
after  a  very  heavy  night's  sitting,  but  still  devotionally 
inclined,  attended  mass  at  St.  George's  in  Southwark. 
So  tired  out  was  he  that  he  fell  fast  asleep  in  his  chair  as 
the  service  proceeded,  and  so  he  remained  until  all  had 
been  concluded  and  every  one  had  gone.  Upon  being 
vigorously  aroused  by  the  verger,  Mr.  Biggar  started  up, 
rubbed  his  eyes,  looked  at  the  roof,  and  fancying  himself 
at  the  moment  in  the  House  of  Commons,  with  the  master 
instinct  strong  within  him,  loudly  exclaimed,  *'Mr.  Speaker, 
I  move  that  the  House  be  counted." 

Thanks  to  Egan,  I  travelled  to  Dublin  under  happy 
circumstances.  I  was  the  bearer  of  letters  of  introduction 
to  Dr.  Kenny,  M.P.,  O'Rorke,  Egan's  brother-in-law,  and 
to  those  in  charge  at  the  Land  League  headquarters.  I 
anticipated  an  interesting  time,  and  I  was  not  disappointed. 
Dr.  Kenny,  though  his  memory  is  now  very  deficient  — 
shall  I  say  }  —  proved  the  most  entertaining  of  men,  and  I 
had  both  lunch  and  dinner  at  his  hospitable  board  in 
Gardiner  Street.  It  was  in  his  company  I  paid  my  visit 
to  Kilmainham  Prison,  and  through  his  kind  introduction 
that  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  John  Dillon,  P.  J.  Sheri- 
dan, M.  J.  Boynton,  and  the  others  I  met  on  the  occasion. 
My  visit  and  its  incidents  afforded  a  very  good  insight 
into  how  matters  were  conducted,  and  proved  to  me  how 
very  easy  it  was  to  carry  on  communication  with  the  out- 
side world  —  at  least  when  you  were  an  Irish  political 
prisoner.  To  my  surprise  there  was  no  attempt  made  by 
the  warder  to  hear  the  conversation  I  had  with  Boynton. 
On  the  contrary,  this  interesting  ofificial  most  obligingly 
took  himself  off. 


32 


TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


This  meeting  with  Boynton  was  full  of  interest  to  me. 
He  was  the  man,  it  will  be  remembered,  who  had  been 
named  by  Devoy  as  carrying  out  the  arrangements  for  the 
*'  active  "  policy  of  Ireland,  and  who  was  best  known  as 
the  brother  of  Captain  Boynton  the  swimmer.  From 
him  in  the  secrecy  of  conversation,  undisturbed  by  the 
presence  of  a  warder  or  fellow-prisoner,  I  learnt  that  the 
Land  League  had  placed  the  Fenian  or  National  cause  in 
a  far  stronger  position  than  ever  in  Ireland.  Could  the 
Clan-na-Gael  only  see  the  national  spirit  which  had  been 
developed  all  over  Ireland,  they  would  never  oppose  it,  he 
believed.  In  counties  where  the  revolutionary  organiza- 
tion had  been  dead  for  years,  continued  he,  there  was  now 
material  for  work,  and  men  ready  to  go  as  far  as  any  one. 
All  these  men  wanted  was  organization  and  leaders.  He 
besought  my  assistance  in  proving  his  claim  to  be  a  nat- 
uralized American  citizen,  which,  if  established,  would 
mean  his  release.  I  left  him  with  no  doubt  in  my  mind 
as  to  his  being  a  thorough-paced  Revolutionist.  When  I 
got  outside  the  prison,  I  received  from  Dr.  Kenny  a  let- 
ter which  Boynton  had  intrusted  to  him  after  leaving, 
containing  a  couple  of  his  photos.  Boynton,  need  I  state, 
was  a  paid  Land  League  organizer  like  Sheridan,  the 
director  of  the  Invincibles.  My  meeting  with  Sheridan 
was,  by  the  way,  almost  a  momentary  affair,  and  that  with 
Dillon  in  the  presence  of  a  warder. 

After  a  very  interesting  time  in  Dublin,  I  left  by  North 
Wall  boat,  being  ''seen  off"  as  the  phrase  is  by  Egan's 
business  partner  and  brother-in-law,  O'Rorke,  and  Andrew 
Kettle,  both  Leaguers  remaining  on  the  bridge  of  the 
boat  talking  to  me  till  we  left.  The  detailed  report  of  all 
I  had  seen  and  heard  was  duly  submitted  to  Mr.  Ander- 
son.    I  was  commended  for  my  success  ;  said  good-by  to 


IN   THE   SECRET  SERVICE. 


133 


everybody  ;  and  once  more  took  ship  for  home,  in  order 
to  get  back  in  time  for  the  Convention  of  the  Clan-na- 
Gael,  which  was  to  take  place  very  soon.  Of  course  there 
was  another  matter  which  prompted  my  speedy  return, 
and  that  was  the  work  I  had  undertaken  to  do  on  behalf 
of  Mr.  Parnell.  I  had  to  see  Devoy  and  the  others,  to 
report  the  Irish  leader's  views  to  them,  and  having  ac- 
quitted myself  of  all  I  had  to  do  as  a  Revolutionary 
envoy,  to  find  out  as  much  as  possible  of  the  result,  in 
order  that  I  might  utilize  the  information  in  my  capacity 
as  an  agent  of  the  Secret  Ser  vice. 


XXXVII. 

I  REACHED  New  York  somewhere  in  the  month  of  June 
1 88 1.  Devoy  was  not  there  when  I  arrived,  and  so  I  had 
to  telegraph  to  him  at  New  Haven,  Conn.,  in  order  to 
arrange  an  interview.  My  telegram  was  followed  by  a 
written  report  of  all  that  had  happened  ;  and  as  Devoy  was 
detained  at  New  Haven,  a  lengthy  correspondence  took 
place  between  us.  Though  at  first  reluctant  to  go  to 
Europe,  he  eventually  undertook  to  do  so.  His  consent, 
however,  was  conditional  on  his  colleagues  agreeing  to  the 
undertaking,  and  with  them  he  promised  to  confer  imme- 
diately on  his  return.  Later  on  he  telegraphed  me  to  lay 
his  correspondence  before  Sullivan  and  Hynes,  when  I 
discussed  the  matter  with  them.  The  following  is  one  of 
the  letters  I  had  from  Devoy  in  connection  with  this  mat- 
ter. It  is,  unfortunately,  the  only  one  I  retained  in  my 
possession,  the  others  having  been  forwarded  with  my 
despatches  at  this  period,  as  they  were  of  a  far  more  im- 
portant character. 


134  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


**4i  Orange  Street,  New  Haven, 
"  Office  of  Mr.  Reynolds, 
''June  24,  1 88 1. 

"  Dear  Friend,  —  I  am  sorry  I  was  obliged  to  leave  here  for  New  York 
last  Saturday,  consequently  I  did  not  get  your  letters  till  my  return  last  night. 
They  would  have  been  sent  on  to  me,  but  I  was  expected  to  return.  I  am 
much  obliged  for  the  information  you  have  given  me,  and  the  interest  you 
have  taken  in  a  matter  that  affects  us  all  so  closely.  I  have  not  heard  from 
H.  (Hynes),  but  yesterday  I  received  a  note  from  E.  (Egan)  urging  me 
strongly  to  go  over,  but  I  did  not  understand  for  what  purpose  till  I  got  your 
explanation.  I  should  like  to  go  very  much  if  I  could  spare  the  time,  and  if 
I  thought  my  visit  would  produce  the  effect  anticipated,  but  I  am  afraid  it 
would  not.  I  have  no  authority  to  speak  for  anybody,  and  no  man  would 
undertake  to  speak  for  the  V.C.  without  its  consent,  and  which  must  take 
time  to  get;  and  none  of  us,  even  if  we  had  that  consent,  could  give  any 
guaranty  for  the  individuals  on  the  other  side,  who  are  hostile,  and  who,  I 
feel  certain,  do  not  represent  the  opinion  of  the  home  organization.  There 
can  be  no  change  there  until  there  is  a  change  of  persons,  and  that  is  sure  to 
come  in  time.  All  I  could  do  would  be  to  tell  E.  (Egan)  and  P.  (Parnell), 
on  my  own  responsibility,  what  I  believe  would  be  satisfactory  to  our  friends 
here,  and  make  propositions  that  I  might  have  felt  morally  certain  would  be 
approved  of;  but  I  would  not,  on  any  consideration,  have  them  pay  my 
expenses;  that  would  place  me  in  a  false  position  at  once.  I  have  asked 
advice,  and  if  certain  friends  here  think  it  the  right  thing  to  do,  I  shall  start 
next  Wednesday;  but,  at  present,  I  do  not  think  I  shall  be  so  advised.  They 
seem  to  misunderstand  our  dissatisfaction  here.  It  is  not  their  action  in  Ire- 
land, but  the  action  they  allow  their  friends  to  take  in  their  name  here. 
There  is  little  difference  of  opinion  about  the  essential  point,  but  we  cannot 
tolerate  the  kind  of  thing  begun  in  Buffalo.  Please  drop  me  a  line. —  Yours, 
in  haste, 

*' John  Devoy." 

Before  proceeding  to  Sullivan  and  Hynes,  I  took  a  trip 
to  Philadelphia,  in  order  to  see  Dr.  Carroll  and  convey 
Mr.  Parnell's  views  to  him.  With  him  I  found  very  little 
sympathy  for  the  proposal.  He  was  as  antagonistic  to  the 
open  movement  as  possible.  As  for  Davitt,  he  had  lost 
all  faith  in  him.     *'  When  Davitt  ceases  to  be  a  Revolu- 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


35 


tionist,"  he  remarked,  **  I  have  no  further  use  for  him." 
As  for  any  practical  alliance  between  the  two  forces,  his 
idea  was  that  no  two  or  three  people  should  take  upon 
themselves  to  decide,  but  that  the  whole  question  should 
be  brought  up  before  the  coming  convention.  Altogether, 
Dr.  Carroll  appeared  anything  but  an  enthusiast  on  Mr. 
Parnell's  behalf,  although  in  the  end  he  went  the  length 
of  saying  that  he  was  glad  to  find  by  Mr.  Parnell's  atti- 
tude that  there  was  a  returning  sense  of  reason  on  his 
part.  From  Philadelphia  I  journeyed  to  Chicago,  where 
I  saw  Alexander  Sullivan  and  William  J.  Hynes.  I  dealt 
with  them  separately  at  first,  but  in  the  end  a  conference 
took  place  betv/een  the  three  of  us.  The  news  I  brought 
them  appeared  to  be  a  source  of  gratification.  They  ap- 
parently fully  realized  the  importance  of  the  situation, 
and  determined  in  the  end  that  one  of  them  at  least 
should  go. 

I  had  now  completed  my  part  of  the  work,  and  so,  con- 
tent with  my  labors,  I  returned  home,  wrote  a  full  account 
of  my  proceedings  to  Mr.  Anderson,  and  turned  my  atten- 
tion to  my  business.  I  com.municated  fully  with  Egan  in 
two  lengthy  letters,  but  I  did  not  write  Mr.  Parnell,  for 
Egan  had  purposely  asked  that  I  should  not  communicate 
direct  with  his  chief.  As  far  as  any  further  public  action 
on  my  part  was  concerned,  I  dropped  out  of  the  affair  at 
this  point.  I  knew  that  I  should  learn  every  thing  in  time, 
and  I  was  quite  content  to  wait. 

As  I  had  anticipated,  I  did  hear  the  result,  and  on  no 
less  an  authority  than  that  of  Sullivan  himself.  He  in- 
formed me  some  time  later  that  the  sanction  of  the  execu- 
tive body  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  or  V.C.  had  been  given  to 
the  bringing  about  of  an  ''understanding."  Sullivan, 
however,  did  not  anticipate  that  it  would  be  all  plain  sail- 


136  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

ing.  Even  then  he  expected  trouble  from  the  members 
of  the  home  organization,  but  he  pointed  out  that  their 
opinion  was  not  that  of  the  organization  in  its  collective 
capacity.  On  one  point  he  was  very  strong,  and  that  was 
the  getting  rid  of  poor  old  O'Leary,  The  old  man's  inde- 
pendence of  mind  and  speech  was  not  by  any  means 
relished,  and  so  it  was  determined  that  he  should  go. 
There  could  be  no  radical  change  brought  about,  Sullivan 
confessed,  while  O'Leary  was  there,  and,  I  might  depend 
upon  it,  a  change  of  the  representative  was  certain  to 
come  very  soon.  As  he  talked,  Sullivan  grew  quite  en- 
thusiastic over  the  new  move,  and  he  showed  me  by  his 
manner  that  he  had  given  the  subject  a  great  deal  of 
thought. 

''  I  feel  morally  certain,"  he  continued,  "that  the  propo- 
sitions I  will  make  will  be  approved  of.  I  for  one  am 
opposed  to  bringing  up  this  matter  openly  at  the  coming 
convention.  I  shall  most  certainly  object  to  Parnell,  or 
any  of  his  friends  compromising  themselves  by  allowing 
such  a  course.  The  whole  matter  must  be  left  to  the 
Revolutionary  Directory  and  the  F.C."  (Executive  Body). 
[As  it  will  be  seen  later,  this  is  exactly  what  happened. 
There  was  no  public  discussion  of  the  proposal  in  open 
convention,  but  matters  were  satisfactorily  arranged  in 
the  quiet  caucuses  of  the  responsible  committees.]  Sulli- 
van, continuing,  said,  "  They  (that  is,  the  Parnellites) 
seem  to  misunderstand  our  dissatisfaction  here.  Our 
quarrel  is  not  with  their  action  in  Ireland,  but  with  the 
action  they  allow  their  friends  here  to  take  in  their  name. 
I  know  there  is  but  little  difference  about  essential  points, 
but  we  cannot  tolerate  the  kind  of  thing  begun  in  Buffalo." 

This  reference  to  Buffalo  dealt  with  some  proceedings 
in  connection  with  the  first  American  Land  League  Con- 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  1 37 

vention  of  a  few  weeks  previously,  which  had  attracted  a 
good  deal  of  attention  and  comment  at  the  time.  I  had 
no  personal  knowledge  of  what  took  place,  owing  to  the 
convention  having  been  held  while  I  was  in  Europe,  but  I 
heard  fully  of  the  affair  on  my  return.  The  whole  thing 
was  nothing  more  or  less  than  an  attempt  on  the  part  of 
the  clerical  element  to  gain  the  controlling  power  in  the 
League  Councils,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Clan-na-Gael 
influence.  Certain  speeches  had  been  made  and  action 
taken  with  this  view,  and  although  the  result  had  not 
weakened  them,  the  Clan-na-Gael  leaders  felt  very  bitter 
on  the  point. 

XXXVIII. 

The  month  of  August  at  length  arrived,  and  with  it  the 
Great  Dynamite  Convention  of  188 1.  It  was  pretty  well 
known  that  ''active  "  work  was  to  be  the  order  of  the  day, 
when  the  future  plans  and  schemes  of  the  organization 
came  to  be  discussed.  Nothing  was  talked  of  throughout 
the  camps  but  the  utter  lack  of  practical  effort  which  had 
characterized  the  pa^t  few  years  ;  and  now,  when  funds 
were  pretty  large,  and  the  organization  itself  in  a  very 
flourishing  condition  in  every  way,  it  was  determined  that 
some  outward  and  visible  sign  should  be  given  England 
of  its  power  of  doing  mischief.  The  stories  which  were 
daily  reaching  America  of  the  alleged  brutalities  being 
practised  by  the  British  Government,  only  served  to  in- 
flame the  blood  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  conspirators, 
and  to  make  them  the  more  eager  to  force  on  some  exhibi- 
tion of  their  strength.  The  leaders,  however,  were  in  no 
sense  behindhand  in  the  way  of  bloodthirsty  sentiment ; 
indeed,  as  will  be  seen  by  what  I  have  already  stated  about 


138  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

Devoy  and  others,  arrangements  had  ere  this  been  com- 
pleted for  giving  expression  to  the  popular  desire. 

The  convention,  which  assembled  in  the  club  room  of 
the  Palmer  House,  Chicago,  lasted  from  the  3d  to  the 
loth  of  August  1881  ;  and  although  the  word  dynamite 
finds  no  single  place  in  the  official  records  of  the  assembly, 
it  was  in  the  air  and  in  the  speeches  from  start  to  finish. 
The  whole  question^ of  active  operations  came  up  and  was 
debated  at  great  length  in  connection  with  the  statement 
of  accounts  furnished  by  the  trustees  of  the  Skirmishing 
Fund.  Many  of  the  delegates  present  attacked  both  the 
Revolutionary  Directory  and  the  Executive  Body  for  hav- 
ing practically  done  nothing,  while  an  enormous  amount  of 
money  had  been  spent  from  this  fund  ;  and  wild  demands 
were  made  for  particulars.  The  fight  raged  so  fiercely 
that  disclosures  were  made  compromising  people  on  the 
Irish  side  of  the  water ;  and,  in  order  to  prevent  a  com- 
plete expose  a  resolution  was  suddenly  passed  forbidding 
the  mention  of  names  and  other  compromising  particulars. 
Explanations  were,  however,  tendered  as  to  the  schemes 
which  had  been  discussed  and  in  part  arranged.  These 
included  the  treaty  with  Russia,  the  supply  of  officers  to 
the  Boers,  the  torpedo-boat,  the  hand  grenade,  the  pur- 
chase and  shipment  of  arms,  the  purchase  of  200  six-pound 
cannons  at  $25  each,  and  the  attempt  to  rescue  Michael 
Davitt  on  two  occasions. 

In  the  end  a  resolution  in  the  following  terms  was 
adopted  which,  read  by  the  light  of  the  many  and  excited 
debates,  was  a  clear  instruction  to  the  Executive  Body  to 
be  up  and  doing  at  once  in  the  way  of  ''active"  war- 
fare :  — 

"That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that,  while  we  do  not  dictate  to 
the  F.C.,  whatever  action  they  may  inaugurate,  however  decisive,  will  meet 
the  full  approval  of  the  delegates  present  and  the  V.C.  at  large." 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  1 39 

This,  however,  was  not  the  only  important  resolution 
they  recorded.  While  the  fight  over  an  active  policy  was 
being  engaged  in,  I  secretly  attended  by  request  before 
the  Committee  of  Foreign  Relations,  and  explained  to 
them  the  views  of  Mr.  Parnell  and  Patrick  Egan.  As  the 
result  of  what  took  place  in  connection  with  this  matter, 
the  following  resolution  was  proposed  and  adopted  in  open 
convention  :  — 

*'That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that  both  branches  of  the  S.E. 
i^i.e.,  the  Irish  and  the  American  members  of  the  Revolutionary  Directory), 
in  so  far  as  they  can  give  their  time  and  energies  to  it,  should  devote  them- 
selves to  the  work  of  revolution;  and  if  such  bodies  cannot  give  their 
approval  to  public  movements  that  are  intended  to  promote  the  political  and 
social  regeneration  of  Jsfmboe  (Ireland)  when  they  are  supported  by  a  large 
proportion  of  the  Jsjti  (Irish)  people,  they  will  at  least  refrain  from  antagoniz- 
ing them,  and  that  the  members  of  the  I.S.C.  (The  Irish  Republican  Brother- 
hood) and  the  V.C.  (Clan-na-Gael)  should  not  arbitrarily  be  prevented  from 
exercising  liberty  of  action  in  regard  to  such  movements." 


XXXIX. 

In  this  way  did  both  of  Mr.  ParnelFs  ideas  receive  rec- 
ognition and  support.  In  the  first  place,  the  Revolution- 
ary Directory  was  instructed  to  prepare  for  the  rising  of 
which  he  spoke,  while,  in  the  second,  a  pretty  strong  hint 
was  given  to  the  home  organization  that  members  in  their 
individual  capacity  should  join  the  League  and  support  its 
programme.  It  is  only  right  that  I  should  state  at  this 
point  that  I  was  not  the  only  one  charged  with  represent- 
ing Mr.  Parnell's  views.  My  attendance  before  the  For- 
eign Relations  Committee  brought  me  into  contact  with 
John  O'Connor,  alias  Dr.  Clarke,  alias  Dr.  Kenealy,  the 
travelling  agent  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  in  Europe,  who  in- 
formed me  that  he  specially  attended  in  his  representa- 


140  TWENTY-FIVE   YEARS 

tive  capacity  to  support  the  "  understanding."  This  was 
not  my  first  meeting  with  O'Connor  by  any  means.  When 
in  Paris  I  had  been  introduced  to  him  by  O'Leary,  and 
had  frequently  met  him  in  the  company  of  Egan,  with 
whom  he  was  on  the  most  confidential  terms,  and  working 
in  perfect  harmony.  O'Connor's  statement  was  followed 
by  one  on  the  part  of  Devoy,  who  informed  me  that  "the 
matter  was  now  all  right." 

This  convention  saw  the  initiation  of  the  Sullivan 
regime,  Alexander  Sullivan,  ere  its  close,  being  elected  to 
the  position  of  president  of  the  organization,  with  head- 
quarters at  Chicago.  His  election  was  attended  by  many 
changes  in  the  constitution.  Up  to  this  the  executive 
body,  or  *'  F.C."  as  it  was  termed,  had  consisted  of  a  chair- 
man, secretary,  and  treasurer,  with  eleven  district  mem- 
bers or  ''E.N.'s,"  elected  to  control  the  society  in  their 
several  districts.  The  convention  now  reconstituted  the 
"F.C."  by  excluding  these  eleven  "  E.N.'s,"  and  limiting 
the  number  to  six,  including  the  secretary,  who  was  ex- 
officio,  but  without  a  vote.  This  was  quite  a  revolution  in 
the  management  of  affairs,  and  Sullivan,  in  his  new  posi- 
tion, acquired  a  power  and  prominence  never  enjoyed  by 
any  previous  president.  It  was  after  gaining  possession 
of  this  important  and  powerful  post  that  he  visited 
Europe,  in  accordance  with  the  arrangement  I  had  been 
the  means  of  first  proposing  to  him.  Of  course  it  was 
not  publicly  announced  that  Sullivan  was  in  Europe.  By 
some  he  was  understood  to  be  ill,  by  others  in  Florida. 
It  would  never  have  done  for  him  to  have  publicly  ad- 
mitted or  allowed  the  fact  to  be  known  that  he  was  so  far 
east  as  Paris. 

I  had  very  many  interesting  conversations  at  this  con- 
vention, but  none  more  so  than  those  with  Dr.  Gallaher, 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


141 


now  in  Portland  Prison  for  complicity  in  the  dynamite 
outrages,  and  Mackay  Lomasney,  who  had  just  returned 
from  Ireland,  where,  like  Devoy  in  1879,  he  had  beeia  act- 
ing as  the  inspecting  envoy  of  the  Clan-na-Gael.  Gallaher, 
at  the  time  I  speak  of,  was  making  experiments  in  the 
manufacture  of  explosives,  and  advocating  their  use.  He 
was  quite  enthusiastic  in  their  praise,  and  so  carried  away 
by  his  subject  that  he  expressed  his  willingness  to  per- 
sonally undertake  the  carriage  of  dynamite  to  England 
and  to  superintend  its  use  there.  Lomasney  was  an 
equally  ardent  dynamitard,  not  foreseeing  then  the  fate 
which  awaited  him  under  London  Bridge. 

I  think  I  cannot  better  conclude  this  chapter  than  by 
quoting  the  following  statement  of  accounts  furnished  at 
this  convention,  of  the  Skirmishing  Fund,  which,  in  all  its 
details,  even  to  the  amount  stolen  by  the  messenger  of 
the  Irish  Worlds  should  prove  of  interest. 


RECEIPTS,    ETC. 


Total  receipts  by  Irish  World  \x^  to  May  31, 

[881 

$88,306  32 

Received  by  trustees  from  other  sources  . 

1,603  50 

Interest           

1,072  50 

Profits  on  Exchange 

471  25 

$91,453  57 

EXPENSES,    ETC. 

Purchase  of  bonds 

$31,488  87 

Lent  per  F.C.  to  S.C.  for  tools 

10,000  00 

Lent  to  F.C 

5,875  00 

Irish  volunteers 

1,000  00 

J.  J.  O'Mahony's  burial 

2,030  00 

O'D.  Rossa's  defalcations 

1,321  90 

Old  submarine  vessel 

4,042  97 

New  submarine  vessel 

.      23,345  70 

Miscellaneous  expense    . 

321  04 

Lent  Dr.  Carroll     . 

860  00 

142  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

Luby  and  Burke lOO  oo 

Checks  dishonored          ......  78  68 

Reception,  Condon  and  Meledy       ....  249  79 

Allowed  A.  Ford  on  old  money,  Rossa's  not  cashed,  41  90 

Irish  ^Fi^r/rf' overcharged        .....  5  04 

Subsidizing  foreign  newspapers  (J.  J.  O'Kelly)         .  2,000  00 

Land  League  trial  (Davitt)     .....  Ij532  00 

Special  to  O'Kelly 177  63 

Author,  New  Departure           .....  1,003  9*^ 

Stolen  by  messenger  of  Irish  World        ...  27  50 

Reception  of   Parnell      .         .         .          .         .          .  165  00 

$85,666  92 

ASSETS. 


Balance  in  bank $S>745  82 

Balance  on  hands    .....  40  83 


$5,786  65 


XL. 

I  HAVE  found  this  subject  of  Irish  secret  conventions 
so  interesting  to  the  many  people  who  have  talked  with 
me  Clan-na-Gael  affairs  since  my  appearance  in  the  wit- 
ness-box that  I  almost  think  I  might  venture  on  some 
slight  description  of  the  modus  opei^aiidi  of  these  gather- 
ings without  wearying  the  reader.  Like  all  proceedings 
from  which  the  general  public  are  shut  out,  a  Clan-na- 
Gael  assembly  becomes  interesting  in  proportion  to  the 
amount-  of  secrecy  by  which  it  is  attended.  Not  indeed 
that  a  Clan-na-Gael  convention  is  anything  very  exciting 
or  terrible  after  all.  It  possesses  none  of  the  weird  fea- 
tures of  that  scene  in  which  our  three  old  friends  of  Mac- 
beth figure.  It  is  on  the  contrary  very  Irish — very 
Irish  indeed.  But  what  it  is  and  what  it  is  not  can  best 
be  demonstrated  by  some  few  details  by  way  of  descrip- 
tion ;  and  so,  transforming  my  gentle  reader  for  the  nonce 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  1 43 

into  a  V.C.  delegate,  I  will  take  him  with  me  for  a  flying 
visit  to  the  Clan  convention  of  1881  in  the  club-room  of 
the  Palmer  House,  Chicago. 

As  we  pass  along  down  the  corridor  to  the  iron  doors  of 
the  club-room,  we  find  our  passage  barred  by  two  stalwart 
Irishmen.  They  are  members  of  the  local  camp,  sta- 
tioned as  sentinels  to  prevent  the  entry  of  the  unauthor- 
ized. We  have  already  presented  our  credentials  and 
been  intrusted  with  the  necessary  passwords,  and  on  giv- 
ing the  outside  password  to  these  guardians  of  the  door, 
we  are  duly  admitted.  On  the  other  side,  however,  we 
are  brought  face  to  face  with  another  couple  of  trusted 
Gaels,  and  to  them  we  have  to  give  the  inside  password. 
'Tis  done,  and,  freed  now  from  further  question,  we  enter 
the  charmed  assembly.  What  a  sight !  What  a  babel  of 
voices  and  a  world  of  smoke !  You  can  scarce  see  for  the 
clouds  which  curl  and  roll  round  you  as  the  breath  of 
fresh  air  is  admitted  by  the  opening  door,  while,  as  for 
hearing,  your  ears  are  deafened  by  the  din  and  clatter  of 
many  tongues  and  stamping  feet.  Yes,  we  are  at  last  in 
the  Irish  Parliament,  as  it  is  grandly  termed,  in  full  ses- 
sion. These  are  the  hundred  and  sixty  odd  delegates  of 
the  great  V.C,  sworn  ''to  make  Ireland  a  nation  once 
again,"  who  are  now  assembled  in  the  year  of  grace  1881 
to  clamor  for  dynamite  as  the  only  means  of  achieving 
their  patriotic  ends. 

Let  us  sit  down  in  the  corner  and  study  the  scene  with 
attention.  It  partakes,  on  the  first  view,  more  of  the  char- 
acter of  a ''free  and  easy"  entertainment  than  a  grave 
portentous  gathering  of  conspirators  ;  but  you  must  not 
judge  by  first  appearances  or  outward  characteristics.  It 
is  the  way  these  men  have  of  doing  their  business,  and 
the  dread  character  of  their  work  is  in  no  way  affected  by 


144  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

the  almost  ludicrous  phases  of  the  preliminary  performance. 
Always  you  must  remember  that  you  are  dealing  with 
Irishmen,  who  in  their  wildest  and  most  ferocious  of  fights 
still  retain  that  substratum  of  childishness  of  character 
and  playfulness  of  mood,  with  its  attendant  elements  of 
exaggeration  and  romance,  which  make  it  as  difficult  for 
an  ordinary  House  of  Commons  member  to  rightly  under- 
stand his  Irish  colleague  when  he  launches  forth  in  descrip- 
tion or  invective  as  it  is  for  the  civilized  foreigner  to  know 
where  the  actual  grievance  now  comes  in. 

Well,  we  are  seated,  and  we  must  proceed  to  make  the 
most  of  our  time.  And  so  I  hurry  on  with  my  description. 
That  is  the  chairman  seated  over  there  on  the  platform, 
with  his  two  secretaries  in  attendance.  The  permanent 
presiding  officer,  as  he  is  termed,  is  on  this  occasion  no 
other  than  our  friend  Wm.  J.  Hynes,  the  gentleman  who 
received  his  start  in  Chicago  politics  as  a  professional 
juryman  through  the  instrumentality  of  Alexander  Sulli- 
van, and  who  since  that  time  has  put  together  flesh  as 
well  as  riches,  and  is  now  one  of  the  strongest-looking 
men  here,  possessed  of  that  which,  if  he  had  no  other 
qualification  would  yet  constitute  a  strong  claim  for  the 
office  of  chairman  —  a  voice  capable  of  rising  above  the 
din  caused  by  fifty  excited  patriots  all  yelling  with  their 
greatest  might.  Seated  round  in  semi-circular  fashion  are 
the  different  delegates  who,  in  the  language  they  love  so 
well,  may  be  described  as  the  flower  of  Irish-American 
patriotism.  They  are  a  funny  crowd,  as  lolling  with  arms 
akimbo,  and  thumbs  resting  in  their  waistcoat  arm-holes, 
they  hang  their  feet  on  the  chairs  in  front,  which  for  com- 
fort's sake  are  tilted  to  an  angle  of  some  40  or  45  degrees, 
and  puff  their  cigars  —  on  such  an  occasion  there  is  noth- 
ing so  vulgar  as  a  pipe  indulged  in  —  high  up  into  the  air, 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  145 

changing  their  position  now  and  again  in  order  to  have  a 
pull  at  those  interesting-looking  black  bottles,  or  to  disrobe 
themselves  of  coat  or  waistcoat,  the  better  to  cool  their 
heated  frames. 

But  hark !  there  is  a  row  on  now.  Listen  to  the  oaths 
and  foul  epithets  which  fill  the  air.  These  two  patriots 
to  our  left  have  apparently  disagreed  about  something 
and  want  to  fight  it  out.  See  how  they  jump  to  their 
feet,  kick  the  chairs  about,  throw  a  curse  across  the  floor 
at  the  chairman  as  he  seeks  to  stop  their  rowdy  proceed- 
ings, and  enter  into  grips  with  each  other.  Watch  how 
friends  hurry  up  on  either  side,  and  note  the  general  con- 
fusion which  now  reigns.  The  business  of  the  convention 
of  course  is  brought  to  a  standstill,  but  not  for  long.  See, 
all  is  quiet  again  now.  These  incidents  are  of  hourly 
occurrence,  and  the  fun  of  it  all  is  that  these  two  com- 
batants will  be  drinking  whiskey  in  the  most  amicable  way 
out  of  the  same  black  bottle  in  less  than  a  quarter  of  an 
hour's  time.  Do  you  notice  these  few  men  hurrying  in 
with  handkerchiefs  to  their  lips  }  Thirsty  souls  !  They 
have  been  taking  advantage  of  the  interval  to  pay  a  visit 
to  the  bar. 

XLI. 

At  last  we  turn  to  business  again.  Luckily  the  topic 
is  an  exciting  one- — nothing  less  indeed  than  the  Skir- 
mishing Fund  discussion —  and  so  matters  will  be  inter- 
esting. O' Meagher  Condon  is  on  his  feet,  and  he  is 
launching  forth  in  vehement  style  against  the  whole  of 
the  governing  powers.  Condon  is  one  of  those  men  who 
were  mixed  up  in  the  Manchester  Martyr  affair,  and  since 
his  arrival  here  a  couple  of  years  since,  on  being  amnes- 


146  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

tied,  he  has  been  quite  a  hero.  He  has  now  a  posi- 
tion in  a  Government  department  at  Washington,  and  is 
much  esteemed  in  the  ranks  of  the  Gaels.  How  his  face 
works  with  excitement  and  passion  as  he  attacks  Devoy 
and  his  fellows  on  the  Revolutionary  Directory  for  their 
want  of  practical  work.  He  finishes  at  last,  and  up  jumps 
Devoy,  more  sour-looking  than  ever,  with  the  perpetual 
scowl  growing  heavier  and  heavier.  As  he  proceeds,  the 
author  of  the  New  Departure  has  recourse  to  the  usual 
method  of  controversy.  He  asserts  that  Condon  is  a 
coward,  and  was  guilty  of  the  grossest  neglect  at  Man- 
chester. If  Condon  had  but  distributed  the  twenty  odd 
pounds  which  was  found  on  him  on  his  arrest,  many  of 
the  men  would  have  escaped,  instead  of  being  captured 
with  empty  pockets.  Gruffer  and  gruffer  becomes  De- 
voy's  voice,  as  losing  partial  control  of  himself  he  trembles 
with  excitement  and  flings  charge  after  charge  across  the 
floor. 

We  are  in  for  another  personal  quarrel,  and  so  have  to 
wait  patiently  while  Condon,  for  the  hundredth  time,  re- 
cites the  threadbare  narrative  of  his  glorious  deeds  in 
Manchester.  Matters  are  very  electrical  when  the  Rev. 
George  C.  Betts  of  St.  Louis  craves  a  hearing,  and  with 
his  well-known  smile  seeks  the  suffrages  of  his  fellow- 
patriots  for  the  moment.  Truly,  a  strange  figure  in  a 
strange  place.  Tall,  erect,  in  the  black  garb  of  the  Church, 
with  priest-like  face  and  priest-like  form,  he  woos  the  as- 
sembly to  a  strange  quietness  as  his  clerical  style  of  utter- 
ance falls  upon  the  audience.  He  is  as  hot  a  dynamitard 
as  any,  but  he  wants  no  personalities.  If  they  are  to  ac- 
complish anything,  they  really  must  be  more  practical. 
And  so  he  proceeds,  winning  applause  and  spreading  en- 
thusiasm, till  Devoy  and  Condon,  and  their  personalities, 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  1 47 

are  swept  into  forgetfulness,  and  all  are  engaged  in  ap- 
plauding revolutionary  sentiment  spiced  with  religious 
quotation,  and  served  up  in  the  most  orthodox  of  fashions. 

The  reverend  dynamitard  concludes,  and  resumes  his 
seat  amidst  most  enthusiastic  evidences  of  his  popularity. 
He  gives  way  to  an  equally  inharmonious  figure  in  this 
motley  gathering.  The  man  who  now  rises  is  one  of 
medium  height,  whose  every  movement  bespeaks  the  pro- 
fessional man,  as  awhile  back  the  picture  presented  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Betts  bespoke  the  cleric.  A  young  man  too  is 
this,  with  his  neat  attire,  trim  beard,  and  gold-headed  cane. 
No  less  a  person  is  he  than  Dr.  Gallaher,  who,  in  this  year 
of  1892,  in  the  convict  suit  of  gray  with  its  regulation 
arrows,  works  out  his  weary  life  in  Portland  prison.  As 
you  watch,  and  as  he  speaks  in  that  quiet  gentlemanly 
fashion  of  his,  you  can  well  believe  that  he  is  a  man  of 
whom  it  might  be  afterwards  boasted  that  he  was  intro- 
duced to  Mr.  Gladstone  himself.  Save  in  his  sentiments 
there  is  nothing  of  the  dynamitard  about  him,  but  in  the 
matter  of  his  speech  there  is  no  room  for  doubt.  Quiet 
and  self-controlled  though  he  be,  his  talk  is  the  talk  of 
war,  and  the  enthusiasm  which  lights  up  his  countenance 
is  that  strong  steady  flame  which  will  steadily  burn  till 
England's  dungeon  doors  close  upon  him  and  cut  short  his 
career  of  recklessness. 

Follov/ing  him  on  the  floor  is  the  familiar  form  of 
Denis  Feeley,  the  fellow  ''  Triangler  "  of  Sullivan  in  later 
days,  and  with  him  the  object  of  attack  on  the  part  of 
Cronin's  friends.  Cool,  calm,  and  deliberate,  he  carries 
his  audience  with  him  as  he  advocates  "  a  secret  blow  at 
the  enemy;"  while  his  big  form  shakes  with  indignation 
as  he  works  himself  up  to  an  excited  pitch  over  ''  the 
wrongs  of  their  beloved  country."     At  last  Feeley  con- 


I4S  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

eludes,  and  there  rises  another  well-known  figure,  that  of 
T.  V.  Powderly,  for  years  the  chief  of  the  largest  working- 
men's  organization  in  America,  known  as  "  The  Knights 
of  Labor."  Little  doubt  can  there  be  as  to  his  views. 
Listen  to  what  he  says  :  — 

"The  killing  of  English  robbers  and  tyrants  in  Ireland,  and  the  destruc- 
tion by  any  and  all  means  of  their  capital  and  resources,  which  enables  them 
to  carry  on  their  robberies  and  tyrannies,  is  not  a  needless  act.  Hence  I  am 
in  favor  of  the  torch  for  their  cities  and  the  knife  for  their  tyrants  till  they 
agree  to  let  Ireland  severely  alone.  London,  Liverpool,  Manchester,  and 
Bristol  in  ashes  may  bring  them  to  view  it  in  another  light." 

And  SO  the  talk  goes  on,  and  seven  hundred  years  of 
grievances  find  expression  from  the  lips  of  excited  patri- 
ots, while  quarrelsome  delegates  destroy  all  decorum. 
There  is  little  purpose  in  our  waiting  further.  One  hour 
will  be  but  the  repetition  of  the  other.  As  we  rise  to 
leave,  however,  one  figure  catches  the  eye  and  impresses 
itself  upon  us.  It  is  that  of  the  arch-plotter  Sullivan, 
who,  through  all  this  din  and  turmoil,  sits  and  makes  no 
sign.  He  knows  that  later  on  he  will  be  the  candidate 
for  the  highest  place  amongst  them,  and  so  he  takes  no 
side.  There  is  no  possibility  of  your  missing  him  as  you 
pass  him  by.  There  he  sits,  quiet,  watchful,  and  alert. 
You  cannot  mistake  the  man.  There  is  a  sense  of  power 
and  intelligence  in  that  clean  cut,  clean  shaven  face  of 
his,  lit  up  by  its  bright  daring  eyes.  Had  you  but  heard 
him  speak,  the  lesson  of  his  presence  would  have  been 
complete.  His  clear  trumpet  voice,  rising  and  falling 
with  the  play  of  a  practised  orator,  his  choice  finished 
diction,  his  well-reasoned,  well-arranged  argument,  and 
the  graceful  gesture  and  movement  of  his  whole  body 
would  prove  to  you  that  there  at  least  was  a  man  gifted 
to  command  and  competent  to  control. 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  1 49 

And  SO  we  terminate  our  flying  visit  to  the  Eighty-one 
Convention  of  the  Clan-na-Gacl,  wherein  there  were  assem- 
bled forty  lawyers,  eight  doctors,  two  judges,  clergymen 
of  both  leading  religions,  merchants,  manufacturers,  and 
working  men,  all  mixed  up  in  glorious  confusion,  almost 
all  reduced  to  the  level  of  the  whiskey  bottle,  and  none 
removed  from  the  struggles  of  personal  avarice  and 
ambition. 


XLII. 

Nothing  of  a  very  stirring  character  happened  for  the 
next  couple  of  months,  and  so,  much  to  my  satisfaction,  I 
was  permitted  to  attend  for  a  little  without  interruption  to 
my  private  affairs.  They  sadly  lacked  some  notice  on  my 
part,  for  business  was  growing,  my  drug-stores  were  in- 
creasing in  number,  and  so  was  my  family.  Patients 
were  very  numerous  too,  but  expenses  were  not  without 
their  increase,  for  I  had  to  employ  a  regularly  qualified 
M.D.  to  take  my  place  in  my  absence.  If  I  could  have 
settled  down  and  simply  minded  my  own  business  from 
this  henceforth,  I  would  have  been  in  a  very  satisfactory 
position  to-day.  But  'twas  not  to  be.  I  was  constantly 
on  the  move,  and  living  at  high  pressure  right  through. 
To  keep  myself  thoroughly  posted  I  had  to  be  here,  there, 
and  everywhere,  and,  in  the  end,  my  ordinary  business 
had  to  take  a  very  secondary  place.  Even  at  this  time 
my  leisure  from  political  affairs  was  to  be  of  very  short 
duration,  for,  in  my  capacity  as  Senior  Guardian,  I  received 
the  following  in  the  month  of  November  1881  :  — 


150  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

«'  Private, 

"  For  S.  G.  alone. 

"  Headquarters,  K., 
'■'■November  21,  1 88 1. 
**S.G.  of  D. 

"Dear  Sir  and  Brother,  —  It  is  the  desire  of  the  F.C.  that  as  many 
members  of  the  V.C.  as  can  possibly  attend  the  Irish  National  Convention  at 
Chicago,  November  30,  1881,  vi^ill  do  so  without  entailing  expense  on  the 
organization. 

"  You  will  therefore  make  every  effort  to  get  the  members  of  the  V.C. 
elected  as  delegates  from  any  Irish  society  that  may  have  an  existence  in 
your  neighborhood,  whether  it  be  as  representative  of  the  Land  League  Club, 
the  A.O.H.,  or  any  other  organization. 

"  The  F.C.  particularly  desires  your  presence  as  a  delegate,  if  it  is  possible 
for  you  to  attend  as  such. 

"  Fraternally  yours, 

"K.G.N.  OF  THE  V.C." 

I  thoroughly  knew  what  this  meant.  Under  the  new 
resrime  of  Sullivan  there  was  to  be  no  more  of  the  *' Buffalo 
business,"  and  to  prevent  it  things  were  to  be  done  in  a 
thoroughly  practical  manner.  The  members  of  the  secret 
revolutionary  organization  were  to  capture  the  representa- 
tion at  the  coming  Land  League  Convention,  to  act 
unitedly  in  the  development  of  a  policy  in  harmony  with 
the  Clan-na-Gael,  and  to  officer  the  future  executive 
in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent  further  misunderstanding. 
In  order  to  do  all  this,  the  Clan-na-Gael  men  were  to 
obtain  election  as  League,  or  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernian, 
delegates,  the  latter  organization  being  a  purely  benevo- 
lent body,  whose  branches  had  largely  affiliated  with  the 
League  or  open  movement  from  the  start.  This  was 
accordingly  done ;  and  thus  it  came  about  that,  when  I 
met  my  fellow-delegates  to  the  open  Land  League  Con- 
vention of  1 88 1,  I  found  almost  every  second  man  a 
brother  from  the  camps  of  the  Clan-na-Gael. 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.       •  151 

The  whole  scheme  worked  in  the  most  perfect  manner. 
On  arrival  in  Chicago  each  Clan-na-Gael  man  reported 
himself  to  the  chief  officer  of  the  district,  to  whom  cre- 
dentials were  presented.  Official  intimation  was  then 
given  as  to  what  would  happen,  and  each  conspirator 
learned  that,  prior  to  the  sessions  of  the  convention,  cau- 
cuses of  the  Brotherhood  would  be  held  in  the  hall  of 
Camp  16,  Twenty-second  Street,  Chicago.  The  usual 
precautions  were  taken,  and  admission  only  gained  by 
passwords  exchanged  on  each  occasion.  As  the  chairman 
at  the  first  gathering  —  the  Rev.  George  C.  Betts  — 
humorously  put  it,  ''our  object  was  to  make  things  easy 
for  the  Land  Leaguers,  and  to  save  them  as  much  trouble 
as  possible."  At  each  meeting  the  plan  of  procedure  at 
the  coming  session  was  decided  upon,  and  the  election  of 
temporary  and  permanent  officers  arranged.  Nominations 
for  various  committees  were  fixed,  and  no  opportunity 
neglected  for  adapting  the  constitution  and  officials  to  our 
requirements.  The  resolutions  subsequently  adopted  in 
open  convention  were  drafted  by  our  committees. 

It  therefore  came  about  that  John  F.  Finerty  of  Chicago, 
the  well-known  dynamite  advocate  and  prominent  member 
of  the  Clan,  "called  the  convention  to  order,"  and  made 
the  opening  speech.  William  J.  Hynes  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary Directory,  and  the  chairman  of  the  late  Clan-na- 
Gael  convention,  was  appointed  temporary  chairman,  and 
Joseph  E.  Ronayne,  who  had  acted  in  a  similar  capacity  at 
the  Dynamite  Convention,  was  appointed  secretary,  while 
T.  V.  Powderiy  of  the  Clan  Executive,  whose  fiery  speech 
at  the  same  convention  was  given  a  few  pages  back,  was 
nominated  assistant-secretary.  The  nomination  of  these 
men  led  to  a  trial  of  strength  between  the  two  forces  of 
the  convention,  but  the  real  tug  of  war  was  reserved  for 


152  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

the  second  day,  when  resolutions  previously  adopted  at  the 
Gael's  caucus  were  proposed,  nominating  the  Rev.  George 
C.  Betts  of  St.  Louis  as  permanent  chairman,  and  Patrick 
Ford,  John  Devoy,  Mrs.  Parnell,  and  a  number  of  priests 
as  vice-presidents.  Of  course  the  priests  were  put  forward 
for  political  reasons.  The  vice-presidents  were  not  ob- 
jected to,  but  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  George  C. 
Betts,  a  Protestant  clergyman,  was  strongly  opposed  by 
the  priestly  party.  A  very  excited  debate  took  place,  but 
in  the  end  the  opposition  to  Betts  was  withdrawn  at  the 
instigation  of  the  Irish  visitors  —  Messrs.  T.  P.  O'Connor, 
M.P.,  T.  M.  Healy,  M.P.,  and  Father  Sheehy  — and  so  at 
the  close  this  vice-president  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  was 
elected,  and  the  secret  organization  triumphed  all  along 
the  line. 

The  Irish  political  controversy  was  this  year  darkened 
by  the  sad  event  in  the  Phoenix  Park,  Dublin,  when  Lord 
Frederick  Cavendish  and  Mr.  Burke  met  their  deaths  at 
the  hands  of  the  Irish  Invincibles.  As  regards  the  In- 
vincible conspiracy,  I  have  little  or  nothing  to  say.  It 
was  in  no  sense  an  American  affair,  and  no  matter  how 
little  or  how  much  certain  sympathizers  in  the  States  may 
have  known  of  the  murderous  conspiracy,  nothing  was 
said  on  the  subject  in  public  or  in  secret  to  connect  the 
Clan-na-Gael  in  any  way  with  the  proceedings  of  Carey 
and  his  friends.  There  was,  of  course,  a  certain  amount 
of  sympathy  with  the  affair,  as  was  shown  by  the  attitude 
taken  up  by  John  Devoy  in  his  paper  the  Irish  Nation^ 
which  was,  by  the  way,  the  official  organ  of  the  Clan-na- 
Gael  at  this  time,  and  subsidized  from  its  fund.  Devoy 
gave  great  prominence  to  the  refusal  of  Egan  to  offer  a 
reward  for  the  discovery  of  the  murderers,  printing  the 
following  telegram  in  his  issue  of  13th  May  1882  : — - 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  153 


«*  PATRICK  EGAN  ON  BLOOD-MONEY. 

"  Paris,  May  10,  1882. 

"  Mr.  Egan,  the  Treasurer  of  the  Land  League,  has  telegraphed  the  fol- 
lowing to  the  Freeman^ s  Jota-nal  of  Dublin :  — 

'"Editor,  Freeman,  Dublin. — In  the  Freeman  of  yesterday  Mr.  James 
F.  O'Brien  suggests  a  reward  of  £2.^000  out  of  the  Land  League  Fund  for  the 
discovery  of  the  perpetrators  of  the  terrible  tragedy  of  Saturday.  Remem- 
bering, as  I  do,  the  number  of  innocent  victims  who  in  the  sad  history  of  our 
country  have  been  handed  over  to  the  gallows  by  wretched  informers,  in  order 
to  earn  the  coveted  blood-money,  and  foreseeing  the  awful  danger  that  in  the 
present  excited  state  of  public  feeling  crime  may  be  added  to  crime  by  the 
possible  sacrifice  of  guiltless  men,  I  am  determined  that  if  one  penny  of  the 
Land  League  Fund  were  devoted  for  such  a  purpose  I  would  at  once  resign 
the  treasurer  ship. 

*'  'Patrick  Egan.'  " 


And  commenting  upon  it  in  the  following  vein  :  — 

*'  '  Patrick  Egan  has  spoken  out  like  a  man  against  the  adoption  by  Irish- 
men of  the  base  English  policy  of  suborning  informers.  He  declares  that 
should  a  penny  of  the  Land  League  funds  be  devoted  to  such  an  object,  he 
will  resign  the  treasurership.  Mr.  Parnell  should  at  once  repudiate  the  attempt 
made  from  this  side  to  connect  him  with  action  so  culpable  and  un-Irish.  By 
consenting  to  become  the  trustee  of  the  Irish-American  blood-money  he  would 
forfeit  the  sympathies  of  his  warmest  admirers.'  " 


It  was  in  this  year,  too,  that  O'Donovan  Rossa  was 
finally  expelled  from  the  Clan-na-Gael.  He  had  been  in 
very  bad  odor  for  a  long  time  previously,  owing  to  his  un- 
satisfactory connection  with  the  Skirmishing  Fund ;  and 
at  last,  after  a  couple  of  attempts  to  get  rid  of  him,  he 
was  summarily  kicked  out,  and  from  henceforth  repudiated 
by  the  recognized  officials  of  the  secret  organization. 


154  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


XLIII. 

Eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-three  proved  a  very  busy 
time  with  me.  There  was  another  Land  League  conven- 
tion :  Egan,  Sheridan,  Frank  Byrne,  and  other  Invincibles 
"on  the  run"  arrived  in  the  country,  and  altogether  my 
time  was  pretty  well  occupied  in  obtaining  information 
and  passing  it  on  to  my  chief.  The  year  opened  amidst 
rumors  in  the  public  press  of  the  secret  movement  having 
captured  the  open  organization  of  the  League.  Mr.  Par- 
nell  himself  had  taken  action  previously  in  connection  with 
the  Kilmainham  Treaty,  and  in  other  ways  which  were  not 
understood  or  appreciated,  and,  as  a  consequence,  a  partial 
breach  had  occurred.  So  strained  were  matters  becoming 
that  in  February  it  was  announced  that  both  Mr.  Parnell 
and  Egan  would  come  to  America  in  April  for  the  purpose 
of  discussing  the  whole  situation  and  fixing  upon  some 
new  mode  of  operations  for  the  future  which,  while  equally 
effective  as  regards  joint  working,  would  not  impair  Mr. 
Parnell's  usefulness.  Many  weeks,  however,  had  not 
■passed  ere  the  fight  between  the  clerical  and  revolutionary 
elements  in  the  States  began  to  wax  exceedingly  hot,  and, 
changing  his  plans,  Mr.  Parnell  determined  not  to  inter- 
fere, and  so  failed  to  put  in  his  promised  appearance. 

Egan,  however,  thanks  to  the  revelations  of  Carey,  had 
to  make  a  speedy  and  somewhat  undignified  exit  from 
Dublin,  and  not  waiting  till  the  month  of  April,  he  put 
himself  en  evidence  in  American  life  in  the  month  of 
March.  I  met  him  a  week  or  two  after  his  arrival,  when 
he  was  the  guest  of  Alexander  Sullivan,  the  President  of 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  I  55 

the  Clan-na-Gael,  at  Chicago.  We  renewed  our  cordial 
friendship,  and  the  same  close  intimacy  prevailed  between 
us  as  had  been  the  case  in  Paris.  He  told  me  that  the 
programme  now  to  be  proposed  would  give  full  satisfaction 
in  America;  while,  as  for  Sullivan,  he  (Sullivan)  remarked 
to  me  significantly  about  this  time  that,  though  he  had 
never  doubted  Egan,  he  was  now  more  than  satisfied. 

The  public  convention  of  the  Land  League  henceforth 
to  be  known  as  the  National  League  of  America,  took 
place  at  Philadelphia  on  the  26th  April  and  following  days. 
The  same  plan  of  campaign  as  had  been  developed  in  1881 
was  put  in  force  by  the  Clan-na-Gael.  A  secret  circular 
was  issued  instructing  the  camps  to  send  delegates,  and 
these  delegates  when  assembled  in  Philadelphia  pursued 
the  same  line  of  policy  in  their  caucus  gatherings.  The 
whole  thing  worked  like  an  exquisite  piece  of  mechanism, 
and  produced  the  most  satisfactory  of  results  for  the  Clan 
leaders.  Of  course  I  was  a  delegate,  and  of  course  I 
attended  all  the  secret  caucuses.  Well  for  Egan  that  it 
was  so.  He  considered  it  impolitic  to  appear  at  any  of 
the  secret  gatherings,  and  so,  much  to  my  satisfaction,  he 
asked  me  to  acquaint  him  daily  with  what  transpired,  which 
I  did,  and  received  in  return  many  interesting  pieces  of 
private  information.  The  convention  was  remarkable  for 
the  presence  of  Egan  and  Brennan,  the  runaway  treasurer 
and  secretary  of  the  Irish  Land  League,  both  of  whom  took 
part  in  the  proceedings,  and  of  Frank  Byrne  and  his  wife, 
who  were  accommodated  with  seats  on  the  platform. 

In  accordance  with  the  arrangements  made  at  one  of  the 
caucus  meetings,  Alexander  Sullivan  was  appointed  presi- 
dent of  the  new  organization.  He  played  his  part  well  on 
the  occasion,  and  succeeded  in  entirely  overcoming  the 
scruples  of  those  opposed  to   him   in  consequence  of  his 


156  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

being  chief  of  the  Clan-na-Gael.  Not  once  but  twice  did 
this  prince  of  intriguers  decline  the  honor  respectfully 
but  firmly  ;  and  not  till  after  repeated  appeals  from  Mrs. 
Parnell,  the  mother  of  the  Irish  Home  Rule  leader,  did  he 
consent  to  take  the  office.  Another  leading  Gael  was 
appointed  secretary,  and  out  of  the  Executive  Committee 
of  seven,  five  were  members  of  the  Clan-na-Gael. 

Although  Mr.  Parnell  did  not  make  his  promised  appear- 
ance, he  sent  a  lengthy  and  significant  telegram,  in  which 
he  asked  that  the  platform  should  be  so  framed  as  to  enable 
himself  and  his  friends  to  continue  to  receive  help  from 
America,  and  to  work  in  such  harmony  as  would  allow  of 
their  achieving  those  great  objects  for  which,  through 
many  centuries,  the  Irish  race  had  struggled. 

This  was  a  pretty  plain  hint  from  the  leading  spirit  on 
the  Irish  side  to  keep  matters  moderate  in  appearance,  and 
it  was  not  lost  on  those  charged  with  the  conduct  of  affairs, 
as  the  following  extracts  from  my  official  report  to  my 
camp  on  my  return  will  show  :  — 

"The  various  reports  were  read  and  routine  business  transacted.  These 
developed  that  the  Land  League  had  not  increased  in  members,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  had  decreased  during  the  past  year;  that  a  majority  of  the  patriots 
of  America  had  become  tired  of  giving  their  earnings  for  *  Simon  Pure  agita- 
tion; '  of  the  900  branches  existing  a  year  ago,  105  had  disbanded,  and  298 
had  failed  to  report.  The  total  receipts  for  the  past  year  from,  all  sources 
were  79,138  dollars,  40  cents,  and  the  disbursements  74,123  dollars,  40  cents, 
leaving  on  hand  a  balance  of  4,915  dollars. 

"There  was  an  evident  desire  upon  the  part  of  clerical  delegates  and  lady 
Land  Leaguers  (who  evinced  a  fear  of  amalgam^ating  with  dynamiters  and 
secret  society  Revolutionists)  to  retain  the  organization  intact,  dropping  the 
word  land,  adopting  the  platform  of  the  Dublin  Convention  of  last  October, 
electing  their  ofncers  for  the  ensuing  year,  calling  themselves  the  National 
League,  and  adjourning  sine  die.  This  policy  received  an  able  but  unscru- 
pulous supporter  in  Miles  O'Brien  of  New  York,  a  renegade  member  of  the 
V.C.,  who  exhibited  the  last  circular  of  instructions  from  the  F.C.  to  a  num- 
ber of  priests  to  show  them  how  they  were  to  be  manipulated  by  the  terrible 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE,  I  5/ 

Clan-na-Gaels.  Had  this  source  been  successful  it  would  have  prevented 
union,  it  would  have  continued  the  various  factions,  and  the  formidable  front 
presented  to-day  of  all  the  societies  of  the  country  pledged  upon  one  platform 
to  work  united  with  one  object  in  view  would  never  have  been  achieved. 

"  Brother  Brown  of  St.  Louis  moved  a  substitute  for  all  resolutions  to  de- 
clare the  Land  League  dissolved  after  the  adjournment  of  this  Convention, 
and  the  delegates  to  attend  the  National  Convention  the  next  day.  This 
eventually  was  practically  carried  by  a  large  majority. 

"The  Convention,  to  which  I  presented  credentials  from  this  body  on 
Thursday  morning,  presented  the  grand  array  of  nearly  1 ,200  delegates  upon  the 
floor,  the  stage  being  decorated  with  portraits,  paintings,  statues,  flags,  and 
flowers,  and  graced  by  some  fifty  ladies  —  conspicuous  amongst  them  being 
Mrs.  Parnell  and  Mrs.  Frank  Byrne  —  the  galleries  packed  to  overflowing, 
some  five  thousand  interested  spectators  being  present,  a  sight  not  soon  to  be 
forgotten. 

"  Again  the  V.C.  showed  the  work  of  its  second  conference  of  Wednesday 
night,  the  proceedings  being  opened  by  Brother  Sullivan,  and  Brother  Dorney 
being  unanimously  elected  temporary  presiding  officer,  the  temporary  secre- 
taries being  Brothers  Roach  01  Troy,  Brown  of  St.  Louis,  Hines  of  Buffalo, 
and  Gleason  of  Cleveland.  The  appointment  of  the  Committee  on  Cre- 
dentials, after  the  opening  speeches,  constituted  the  first  work  on  hand,  and 
here  again  the  perfect  organization  of  the  V.C.  developed  itself;  and  the 
first  breeze  created  by  the  Rossa-Dunne  faction,  who  moved  an  amendment 
that  each  society  have  a  member  upon  the  Committee  on  Credentials,  was 
promptly  voted  down.  Rossa  presented  his  credentials  as  a  member  of  the 
National  Party  of  New  York,  but  was  admitted  only  upon  a  press  ticket. 

"The  knowledge  of  a  Mood  and  thunder  set  of  resolutions  being  in  the 
pocket  of  Major  Horgan  of  New  York,  ready  to  be  fired,  regardless  of  con- 
sequences, into  the  convention,  required  the  passage  of  a  resolution  that, 
until  permanent  organization  was  effected,  all  resolutions  offered  should  be 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  without  being  read.  A  permanent 
organization  was  effected  in  the  afternoon  by  the  unanimous  election  of 
Brother  Foran  of  Cleveland  as  presiding  officer.  The  various  committees 
being  appointed,  the  Convention  adjourned  till  Friday  morning,  the  result  of 
the  day's  work  summarized  showing  that  there  was  nothing  to  warrant  the 
fear  that  the  Rossa  faction  would  develop  any  strength  or  discord;  that  the 
V.C.  were  in  the  majority  everywhere;  that  by  every  action  it  was  desired  to 
follow  out  the  instructions  of  Mr.  Parnell  as  cabled  to  the  Convention  on 
that  day;  and  at  least,  so  far  as  the  public  policy  was  concerned,  to  drop  all 
nitro-glycerine  methods  of  procedure,  and  to  perfect  the  union  of  the  united 
societies  of  the  country  and  Canada  upon  one   platform,  for  the  purpose  of 


158  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

sustaining  Parnell  and  his  policy  by  acting  and  existing  permanently  as  an 
auxiliary  body,  or  rather  further,  to  the  Irish  National  League. 

"  One  straw  to  show  which  way  the  wind  blew  was  the  nomination  in  com- 
mittee of  P.  A.  Collins  of  Boston  for  permanent  chairman.  His  candidature 
was  unitedly  set  down  with  a  will  for  his  action  in  offering  a  reward  of  5,000 
dollars  for  the  discovery  of  the  killers  of  Burke  and  Cavendish  last  year. 

"  Friday  morning  found  the  Convention  in  session  with  the  various  com- 
mittees on  Plan  of  Organization,  Platform,  Resolutions,  and  Permanent 
Organization  ready  to  report.  After  some  spirited  speech-making  by  Fathers 
Boylan  and  Agnew,  and  others,  Dr.  O'Reilly  of  Michigan  submitted  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  in  which  was  included  the  platform 
of  the  NationaljLeague  of  America.  After  reading,  an  attempt  was  made  by 
Finerty  to  adopt  them  seriatim,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  inserted  some 
more  favorable  to  the  turbulent  Rossa-Dunne  faction.  They  were,  however, 
adopted  as  a  whole.   .  ,   . 

"The  Committee  on  Organization  presented  their  report,  which  was  unani- 
mously adopted. 

"  It  was  then  in  order  to  elect  officers  for  the  ensuing  year.  Alexander 
Sullivan  nominated  Dr.  O'Reilly  of  Michigan  as  treasurer.  He  was  elected 
without  opposition,  Father  Walsh  having  declined,  stating  privately  that  he 
had  to  choose  between  his  parish  and  the  treasurership;  and  that  being  the 
case,  he  would  have  to  decline. 

"The  nomination  for  president  resulted  in  the  almost  unanimous  choice  of 
Brother  Alexander  Sullivan,  who,  after  twice  diplomatically  declining,  finally 
was  prevailed  upon  to  accept.  The  Executive  Council  of  one  from  each 
State  was  elected,  a  large  majority  of  whom  were  members  of  the  V.C. 

"  Brother  Hines  of  Buffalo  was  unanimously  elected  permanent  secretary. 
Various  sums  of  money  were  subscribed  for  the  new  league,  principally  by 
the  ladies.  Resolutions  were  passed  turning  over  the  books,  balances  on  hand, 
and  property  of  the  old  Land  League  to  the  new  League. 

"  Speeches  expressive  of  God-speed  and  goodwill  followed  by  everybody, 
and  the  Convention  adjourned  to  meet  again  next  year  at  the  call  of  the 
Executive. 

"The  Executive  Council  subsequently  met  and  elected  the  Council  of 
Seven,  five  of  which  are  members  of  the  V.C. 

"To  briefly  summarize  the  results  of  the  Convention,  we  find  the  unifica- 
tion of  all  Irish  societies  pledged  under  one  leadership  to  follow  the  lines  laid 
down  by  Parnell  and  the  party  at  home,  not  to  lead  but  to  follow  them  whence 
they  may  go  with  all  the  energy,  practical  and  financial  support  possible  —  a 
proof  to  the  world  that  the  ten  millions  of  Irish  nationality  upon  the  conti- 
nent can  be  represented  in  convention  by  their  1,200  delegates,  and  work 


IN   THE   SECRET  SERVICE.  1 59 

harmoniously  and  unitedly,  and  giving  to  those,  and  their  number  is  legion, 
who  believe  in  force  alone,  the  supreme  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the 
machinery  of  the  cause  is  now  under  the  control  and  direction  of  their  com- 
rades, who  believe,  as  they  do,  that  dynamite,  or  any  other  species  of  warfare 
that  can  be  devised  is  perfectly  legitimate,  so  long  as  it  can  be  made  effective, 
and  accomplish  results  permanent  and  tangible. 

"Michael  Boynton  arrived  upon  the  second  day  of  the  Convention  with 
two  members  of  the  Supreme  Council,  who,  as  it  will  be  readily  understood, 
did  not  figure  publicly  on  this  occasion." 


XLIV. 

It  was  shortly  after  this  —  I  think  somewhere  about 
the  29th  of  May  —  that  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  learn 
from  Sullivan  some  particulars  as  to  what  was  going  on 
in  connection  with  the  Dynamite  Campaign.  A  demon- 
stration had  been  arranged  at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  in 
honor  of  Patrick  Egan,  and  at  Sullivan's  pressing  invita- 
tion I  accompanied  him  in  order  to  participate  in  it.  We 
travelled  together  and  conversed  almost  all  the  way, 
Sullivan,  as  was  his  wont,  supplying  me  with  very  inter- 
esting details.  He  told  me  that  the  management  of  the 
secret  warfare  was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary Directory  in  America.  Men,  it  appeared,  could 
not  be  obtained  at  home  to  do  the  work,  for,  from  some 
lack  of  courage  or  discipline,  they  could  not  be  relied 
upon. 

The  rule  adopted  was  that  no  volunteer  should  be  ac- 
cepted. Special  choice  would  be  made  of  men  without 
families,  and  a  special  course  of  instruction  in  the  use  of 
explosives  was  necessary  after  a  man  was  chosen.  So 
great  was  the  care  taken  in  the  selection  of  agents,  that 
their  whole  career  and  character  were  inquired  into  be- 


l6o  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

forehand  without  their  knowledge.  No  new  members 
would  be  chosen  for  the  work',  because  forty  of  the  Royal 
Irish  Constabulary  had  been  sent  on  full  pay  to  America 
to  join  the  organization  with  a  view  to  selling  it.  Sulli- 
van imparted  the  further  interesting  information  that  Dr. 
Gallaher,  when  on  his  mission,  purposely  abstained  from 
coming  in  contact  with  Irish  members,  and  obtained 
introductions  to,  and  acquaintance  with,  English  mem- 
bers. He  was  often  in  the  House,  I  was  told,  and  had 
been  even  introduced  to  Mr.  Gladstone  himself. 

Contrary  to  expectation  and  the  requirements  of  the 
existing  constitution,  no  Clan-na-Gael  convention  took 
place  in  this  year — 1883.  In  the  ordinary  course  of 
events  such  an  assembly  should  have  met  in  August  1883. 
For  reasons  best  known  to  themselves,  however,  Sullivan 
and  his  colleagues  on  the  executive  of  the  secret  organi- 
zation postponed  the  gathering,  and  in  the  end,  by  a 
system  of  manipulation  which  Sullivan  developed  to  a 
perfect  science,  in  connection  with  his  management  of 
Irish  affairs,  the  approval  of  the  organization  was  gained  to 
certain  changes  which  included  the  putting  off  of  the  con- 
vention to  the  following  year,  1884.  To  allow  of  these 
changes  being  approved  of,  it  was  necessary  to  hold  a 
series  of  district  conventions,  and  delegates  were  there 
elected  to  represent  the  districts  at  the  general  conven- 
tion which  would  follow.  Sullivan's  adherents  were  gen- 
erally in  the  majority  at  such  district  assemblies,  and  so 
it  was  a  matter  of  ease  for  him  to  have  supporters  elected 
at  almost  every  gathering,  which,  in  other  words,  meant 
that  the  delegates  then  elected  were  nothing  more  or  less 
than  ardent  Sullivanites,  who  in  the  future  convention 
would  question  nothing,  whereas  ordinary  delegates  would 
undoubtedly  prove  curious,  if  not  embarrassing,  in  their 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  l6l 

search  for  information  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  affairs  of 
the  Clan-na-Gael. 

All  was  not  clear  sailing,  however,  and  murmurs  were 
heard  in  several  quarters  regarding  this  attempt  to  burke 
discussion  and  inquiry  as  to  the  work  of  the  past  two 
years.  Several  of  the  camps  eventually  ceased  their  alle- 
giance and  were  immediately  expelled,  and  the  organiza- 
tion split  up  into  two  sections,  the  one  being  Sullivanite 
and  the  other  anti-Sullivanite.  Devoy  and  his  whole  cam_p 
were  amongst  those  expelled  from  the  Sullivan  wing. 
The  seceders  formed  a  new  organization  under  the  old 
name,  and  the  Sullivanites  became  known  as  the  U.  S. 
Sullivan  was  still  the  strong  man,  and  had  the  greatest 
number  of  supporters  ;  and,  following  my  usual  rule,  I 
acted  with  the  majority  and  became  a  U.  S.  man.  At  the 
start  a  change  was  made  as  jegards  the  number  and  title 
of  the  governing  body.  Three  members  formed  the 
executive,  and  they  were  now  known  as  the  Triangle  —  a 
name  taken  from  the  A  sign  which  was  used  by  way  of 
cipher  signature  on  all  documents  coming  from  head- 
quarters. The  fight  between  the  two  sections  was  now 
raging  bitterly,  and  the  oath  of  the  U.  S.  was  so  drawn 
as  to  exclude  members  of  any  other  Revolutionary  body, 
thereby  denying  the  right  of  any  person  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  both  organizations. 

Meantime,  under  the  plea  of  imminent  danger  of  dis- 
covery, the  books  of  the  organization  were  all  burnt,  and 
no  record  whatever  was  left  in  existence  which  would 
allow  of  investigation.  This  had  driven  very  many  men 
to  desperation,  and  loud  and  sweeping  were  the  charges 
which  the  seceders  made  against  the  Triangle  for  misap- 
propriation of  funds  and  other  like  charges.  None  were 
more  prominent  in  leading  the  attack  on  Sullivan  and  his 


1 62  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

colleagues  than  Dr.  Cronin,  whose  murder  has  recently 
been  the  subject  of  such  lengthy  investigation.  Indeed, 
from  this  point  onwards,  almost  down  to  the  end  of  1888, 
the  history  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  is  the  history  of  the  dis- 
pute between  Cronin  and  Sullivan.  And  now,  having 
purposely  excluded  all  special  mention  of  Dr.  Cronin  from 
my  story  heretofore,  in  order  that  I  might  the  more  fully 
and  clearly  deal  with  the  matter  in  a  compact  form,  I 
shall  proceed  to  sketch  the  life  and  career  in  Irish-Ameri- 
can politics  of  this  last  victim  of  political  assassination. 
In  explaining  the  situations  in  Irish  affairs  as  they  af- 
fected or  were  affected  by  Dr.  Cronin,  I  shall  have  to 
travel  rapidly  over  points  already  dealt  with ;  but  I  think 
it  better  to  do  this  than  to  improperly  represent  the  ill- 
fated  Cronin  by  omitting  from  my  reference  to  his  career 
the  points  which  told  in  favor  of  himself  or  his  adver- 
saries. 

XLV. 

Philip  H.  Cronin  was  born  in  Ireland,  but  when  very 
young  emigrated  to  Canada.  From  thence  when  a  young 
man  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  studied 
medicine  at  the  St.  Louis  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons. Before  this  he  had  been  clerk  in  a  chemist's  store, 
and  had  thus  acquired  a  very  considerable  practical  knowl- 
edge of  medicine.  He  graduated  with  high  honors,  and 
became  eventually  Professor  of  Materia  Medica  and 
Therapeutics  in  the  college.  He  also  attended  a  medical 
college  from  which  he  secured  the  degree  of  M.A.  Cro- 
nin was  a  man  of  fine  presence,  good  looking,  almost  six 
feet  in  height,  and  very  well  formed.  He  was  a  clever 
man  in  every  way,  and  a  good  forcible  speaker,  though  in 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  1 63 

style  aggressive  and  combative  to  a  degree.  Very  ambi- 
tious, like  his  future  enemy  Alexander  Sullivan,  he  was 
never  happy  in  a  back  seat,  always  thrusting  himself  for- 
ward and  fighting  for  the  place  of  leader.  In  fact,  so  pro- 
nounced were  his  ideas  in  favor  of  his  supremacy,  that 
where  he  could  not  rule  he  was  quite  prepared  to  ruin. 

He  moved  to  Chicago  in  the  latter  part  of  1881,  and 
immediately  entered  upon  the  practice  of  medicine,  taking 
up  his  residence  at  351  Clark  Street,  at  the  corner  of  Oak 
Street.  At  this  time  he  was  about  thirty-two  years  of  age, 
so  that  he  was  only  some  forty  years  old  at  the  time  of  his 
murder.  From  the  moment  of  his  arrival  in  Chicago,  he 
went  in  enthusiastically  for  Irish  politics,  and  took  a  lead- 
ing part  in  both  Revolutionary  and  Land  League  matters. 
He  identified  himself  with  the  Clan-na-Gael,  and  was  prom- 
inent at  all  gatherings  of  the  Irish  of  every  kind.  He 
was  strong  in  social  instincts,  and  was  quite  a  figure  at 
social  gatherings,  where  he  used  to  great  advantage  the 
fine  tenor  voice  of  which  he  was  possessed,  singing  na- 
tional songs  especially  with  great  spirit  and  enthusiasm. 
As  a  consequence  he  rapidly  came  to  the  front  in  Chicago, 
and  in  six  months  was  better  known  than  an  ordinary  resi- 
dent would  have  been  in  ten  years.  Towards  the  Land 
League  movement  he  was  especially  sympathetic,  and  he 
took  a  very  large  part  indeed  in  building  it  up.  He  was 
in  a  short  time  elected  President  of  the  i8th  Ward  League, 
then  known  as  the  ''  Banner  League  "  of  Chicago.  Equally 
active  in  the  secret  movement,  he  was  a  guiding  spirit  of 
Camp  No.  96  of  the  Clan  in  Chicago,  publicly  known  as 
the  "  Columbia  Literary  Association,"  and  so  great  was 
his  influence  that,  on  the  appointment  of  the  notorious 
Frank  Agneau  to  the  position  of  district  member,  Cronin 
succeeded  him  as  Senior  Guardian  of   the  Camp.     This 


164  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

was  the  Camp  which  held  its  weekly  meetings  in  the  well- 
know  Turner  Hall  on  the  north  side  of  the  city. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  policy  of  dynamite  had  been 
decided  upon,  and  that  the  campaign  against  English  Gov- 
ernment buildings  and  persons  was  being  inaugurated. 
Cronin  (who  was  anything  but  a  saint  in  character)  was 
an  ardent  advocate  of  the  policy  ;  and,  owing  to  his  scien- 
tific attainments,  he  was  appointed  as  chief  instructor  in 
the  use  and  handling  of  explosives,  acting  all  this  time,  be 
it  marked,  as  the  President  of  the  Banner  League  (or 
Chicago  branch  of  the  Land  League)  as  well.  In  fact,  he 
held  the  position  of  President  of  the  Land  League  branch 
down  to  the  year  1888.  Cronin,  unfortunately  for  himself, 
succeeded  at  a  very  early  stage  in  falling  foul  of  Alex- 
ander Sullivan.  Living  as  he  did  till  1887  at  the  corner 
of  Clark  and  Oak  Streets,  within  a  few  doors  of  Sullivan 
himself,  he  gained  such  an  amount  of  prominence  that  he 
was  rapidly  throwing  Sullivan  into  the  shade.  He  threat- 
ened to  become  more  powerful  than  Sullivan,  and  this 
Sullivan,  equally  ambitious  and  more  unscrupulous,  could 
not  brook.  In  a  short  time  Sullivan  and  his  adherents 
came  to  detest  the  Doctor,  and  as  I  found — for  I  lived 
within  a  stone's  throw  of  each,  knew  them  both  intimately, 
and  saw  them  continuously  —  the  relations  between  them 
were  becoming  more  strained  and  bitter  every  day. 

In  June  1881,  as  I  have  related,  Sullivan  obtained  a  vic- 
tory over  all  his  rivals  by  being  chosen  President  of  the 
Clan-na-Gael,  or  Revolutionary  organization,  at  the  Dyna- 
mite Convention  held  that  year  at  the  Palmer  House, 
Chicago.  It  was  after  this  that  Cronin  gave  the  first  pro- 
nounced sign  of  his  enmity  in  public.  The  opportunity 
for  its  display  was  brought  about  by  the  attack  made  by 
O' Meagher  Condon  upon  John  Devoy,  the  principal  of  the 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  1 65 

three  members  of  the  Revolutionary  Directory,  Devoy 
with  his  colleagues  being  charged  with  responsibility  for 
the  failure  of  the  many  schemes  of  active  warfare  proposed 
by  Condon.  Devoy,  evidently  jealous  of  Sullivan's  elec- 
tion, indulged  in  a  good  deal  of  incrimination,  not  confin- 
ing his  attacks  to  Condon  alone,  and  he  was  afterwards 
supported  by  Cronin,  who  was  possessed  of  the  same  griev- 
ance. The  two  joined  forces,  but  without  any  effect,  for 
Sullivan's  position  was  assured.  From  the  dispute,  how- 
ever, which  occurred  at  this  convention,  dates  the  com- 
mencement of  undisguised  hostility  between.  Sullivan  and 
Cronin. 

Early  in  1883,  when  the  call  was  issued  for  the  Phila- 
delphia Convention  (at  which  was  formed  the  first  branch 
of  the  American  National  League  as  distinct  from  the 
Land  League)  a  meeting  of  Cronin's  branch  of  the  League 
took  place  in  Chicago  for  the  election  of  delegates  to  the 
convention.  Sullivan  and  his  friends,  determining  to 
crush  Cronin  if  they  could,  packed  this  meeting,  and  had 
elected  as  delegates  Alexander  Sullivan  himself,  his  brother, 
and  other  personal  adherents,  much  to  the  disgust  of  Cronin 
and  his  supporters. 

Sullivan  was  equally  successful  later  on  when,  under  the 
new  constitution,  the  Executive  called  district  conventions 
in  lieu  of  the  general  convention  they  had  managed  to 
postpone.  The  convention  in  Cronin's  district  was  held 
in  Millionnaire  Smythe's  Hall  in  Chicago  —  Smythe  being 
Senior  Guardian  of  Camp  458  ;  Cronin,  as  Senior  Guard- 
ian of  his  own  camp,  attended  in  the  capacity  of  delegate 
therefrom.  Mackay  Lomasney,  my  old  friend  from  Detroit, 
also  attended  from  his  district  in  a  like  capacity.  Although 
an  attempt  was  made  to  impeach  Sullivan's  action,  it  was 
not  successful.     His  friends  were  in  the  majority,  and  his 


1 66  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

conduct  was  upheld.  All  attempts  on  the  part  of  Cronin 
to  bring  about  a  different  state  of  things  —  and  they  were 
not  a  few  —  were  voted  down,  and  Alexander  Sullivan,  in 
company  with  Mackay  Lomasney,  the  London  Bridge 
dynamitard,  was  elected  delegate  to  the  Triangle  Conven- 
tion of  1884. 

Cronin,  filled  with  fury,  returned  to  his  camp  and  made 
a  series  of  most  sweeping  charges  against  the  Triangle. 
In  return  charges  were  preferred  against  him  of  being 
a  traitor,  liar,  etc.,  Sullivan  of  course  being  the  insti- 
gator. A  Trial  Committee,  of  which  I  was  one,  was 
appointed,  and  by  it  Cronin  was  promptly  found  guilty  and 
formally  expelled.  I  voted,  as  I  always  did,  on  the  side 
of  the  winning  party.  Cronin  on  his  expulsion  imme- 
diately joined  the  ranks  of  the  seceders,  which  by  this 
time  included  such  well-known  men  as  Devoy,  Dillon, 
M'Cahey,  and  others,  and  he  immediately  obtained  a  seat 
on  the  executive  of  the  new  body.  And  here,  for  the 
moment,  I  must  leave  him. 


XLVL 

The  next  matter  of  public  importance  in  which  I  was 
interested  was  the  Boston  Convention  of  the  Irish  Na- 
tional League  of  America,  which  took  place  in  the  Faneuil 
Hall,  Boston,  on  the  13th  and  following  days  of  August. 
Of  course  I  went  in  my  dual  capacity  as  League  delegate 
and  Revolutionary  official.  The  same  plan  of  campaign 
was  practised  with  the  same  successful  results.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Betts  was  again  to  the  front  as  president  of  the  secret 
caucuses,  while  Egan,  grown  more  bold  by  this,  was  a 
regular  attendant.     When  the   nomination  of  officials  of 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  167 

the  League  came  up,  Sullivan  was  named  for  re-election 
as  president.  He,  however,  declined,  and  made  way  for 
Patrick  Egan.  Egan,  after  some  refusal  on  the  ground 
that  the  British  Government  probably  knew  of  his  connec- 
tion with  the  secret  movement,  and  that  his  taking  office 
might  compromise  Mr.  Parnell,  eventually  agreed,  and  so 
he  took  the  chair  vacated  by  Sullivan.  This  corivention 
was  attended  by  Mr.  Thomas  Sexton,  M.P.,  and  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Redmond,  M.P.,  on  the  part  of  the  Parnellite  party, 
and  by  P.  J.  Tynan,  the  famous  "  No.  i  "  of  the  Phoenix 
Park  murders  —  shall  I  say  on  behalf  of  the  Invincibles  } 
Sullivan  undoubtedly  was  the  pet  boy  of  the  period,  for 
he  was  the  object  of  the  most  adulatory  references  on  the 
part  of  Mr.  Sexton.  He  was,  we  were  told,  a  man  who 
did  honor  to  the  race  from  which  he  had  sprung  ;  a  man 
of  whom  any  race  might  well  be  proud  —  and  so  on. 
Egan,  however,  came  in  for  his  fair  share  of  attention  too. 
He  was,  according  to  another  speaker,  *'  that  clean  handed, 
that  patriotic,  that  heroic  exile,"  although,  of  course,  no 
reference  was  made  to  the  reasons  for  his  exile  as  sup- 
plied by  the  Phoenix  Park  crimes. 

If,  however,  no  reason  was  given  in  public  for  his  exile, 
Egan  was  not  slow  to  refer  to  the  matter  in  private.  I 
had  journeyed  in  his  company  to  Boston,  and  had  had  a 
very  exciting  chat  with  him  in  which  the  question  of  his 
flight  had  largely  figured.  His  description  of  how  he  was 
enabled  to  get  away  from  Dublin  was  most  graphic.  He 
started  off  by  boasting  how  he  had  got  information  from 
the  Castle ;  and  to  show  how  readily  it  could  be  obtained 
he  said  that,  within  twenty  minutes  of  the  order  being 
issued  for  the  warrant  for  his  arrest,  he  knew  of  the  fact. 
He  was  at  his  office  at  the  time,  and  at  once  proceeded 
to  his  house  and  packed  his  satchel.     He  had  two  children 


l68  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

sick  then,  and  Dr.  Kenny  was  attending  them.  He  de- 
stroyed a  number  of  documents  which  he  had  in  the 
house,  some  of  them  pertaining  to  his  connection  with  the 
Irish  Republican  Brotherhood,  and  also  some  letters  of 
James  Carey.  In  fact  he  destroyed  all  papers  tending  to 
incriminate  him  in  case  he  was  arrested.  Fortunately  for 
him  there  happened  to  be  in  Dublin  at  the  time  a  Scotch 
friend  in  the  Belfast  flour  trade,  who  assisted  him  in  get- 
ting away.  He  gave  this  friend  his  rug  and  valise,  and  in- 
structed him  to  purchase  a  ticket  for  Belfast  at  the  North- 
ern Terminus.  He  himself  arrived  at  the  railway  station 
one  moment  before  the  train  started,  took  his  valise  and 
rug  from  his  Scotch  friend,  slipped  into  the  train,  and  that 
night  was  in  Belfast.  On  his  arrival  at  Belfast  he  found 
that  he  could  not  get  out  by  boat,  and  he  went  to  an  hotel, 
where  he  slept.  In  the  morning  he  purchased  a  return 
ticket  to  Leeds,  travelled  with  that  as  far  as  Manchester, 
and  then  got  off  the  train.  There  he  purchased  another 
ticket  from  Manchester  to  Hull,  took  the  steamer  from 
Hull  to  Rotterdam,  and  thus  got  out  of  the  country. 

From  the  account  of  his  own  escape,  he  passed  on  to 
tell  me  how  his  fellow-official  Brennan,  the  secretary  of 
the  Irish  Land  League,  had  got  away.  Brennan,  it  ap- 
peared, gained  the  first  hint  of  his  being  implicated  by 
reading  the  announcement  of  Carey's  evidence  on  a  news 
sheet  displayed  on  the  pavement  in  the  Strand.  He  was 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Thomas  Sexton,  M.R,  at  the  time, 
and  on  reading  the  announcement  they  at  once  turned 
down  a  side  street  where  arrangements  were  made  for 
Brennan's  flight.  Brennan  started  off  for  his  lodgings  in 
order  to  pack  a  valise,  while  Mr.  Sexton,  going  to  Charing 
Cross,  purchased  a  ticket  for  Paris.  On  this  ticket  he 
travelled  to  London  Bridge,  and  there  by  arrangement  he 


IN    THE   SECRET  SERVICE. 


169 


met  Brennan,  who  immediately  proceeded  on  the  train  to 
the  French  capital.  Egan  was  very  generous  in  his  con- 
fidences on  this  occasion,  and  amongst  other  things  he 
told  me  that  he  was  satisfied  the  new  Executive  Body 
v/ould  continue  the  "active  work,"  and  it  would  be  done 
by  men  who  would  not  go  further  than  their  orders,  as 
Dr.  Gallaher  had  done.  This  was  news  to  me,  and  I 
inquired  how.  "  Why,"  replied  Egan,  "he  (Dr.  G.)  got 
in  with  some  of  Rossa's  men,  and  MacDermott  (a  reputed 
informer)  got  it  from  them,  and  gave  him  away."  Previ- 
ously to  this  I  had  met  Egan  in  camp  gatherings,  and 
knew  that  he  was  now  an  actual  member  of  the  American 
Revolutionary  organization.  It  was,  by-the-by,  at  a  camp 
meeting  in  Philadelphia  in  this  year  that  Egan,  addressing 
some  sixty  members,  said,  "  I  have  been  reading  up  the 
records  of  the  Italian  banditti,  and  from  them  I  have 
come  to  believe  in  this  rule  :  Let  us  meet  our  enemies 
with  smiling  faces,  and  with  a  warm  grasp  of  the  hand, 
having  daggers  up  our  sleeves  ready  to  stab  them  to  the 
heart."  Strange  words  these,  and  yet  I  thought  when  I 
heard  of  their  being  uttered  of  the  smiling  face  and  warm 
hand  clasp  which  iiad  puzzled  me  not  a  little  on  that  first 
night  when  I  met  the  speaker  on  the  staircase  of  a  Pari- 
sian hotel. 

The  convention  of  the  secret  organization  followed 
immediately  after  that  of  the  National  League,  but  as  I 
was  not  a  delegate  I  had  no  intimate  connection  with  it. 
It  was  at  this  convention,  as  I  learnt  subsequently  from 
Sullivan,  that  arrangements  were  made  —  few,  if  any, 
Anti-Sullivanites  were  present  —  for  the  destruction  of 
the  records  of  which  I  have  already  spoken,  and  which 
gave  rise  to  so  much  bitterness  on  the  part  of  the  Cronin 
faction. 


I/O  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS  « 

The  principal  fact  worthy  of  notice  in  connection  with 
the  secret  convention  of  1884  was  the  acknowledgment 
by  the  ''  Triangle  "  of  1 18,000  dollars  as  the  sum  received 
and  expended  for  dynamite  purposes  from  the  date  of  the 
holding  of  the  convention  of  1881.  No  vouchers  or 
detailed  statements  were  forthcoming,  and  their  absence 
was  sought  to  be  explained  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
inexpedient  to  supply  information  in  view  of  the  risk  and 
exposure  of  brave  men  engaged  in  the  enterprises.  No 
detailed  statement  of  the  expenditure  of  this  vast  sum  has 
ever  been  made  to  this  day. 

As  one  result  of  this  unsatisfactory  condition  of  things, 
a  circular  was  drawn  up  by  Cronin  and  his  friends,  making 
definite  and  formal  charges  against  the  ''Triangle"  of 
stealing  the  funds  of  the  organization.  Cronin  was  very 
aggressive  in  giving  currency  to  these  charges  in  the 
most  offensive  language,  and  the  feeling  against  him  on 
the  part  of  Sullivan's  adherents  became  extremely  em- 
bittered. As  it  grew  in  intensity  it  spread  to  more  than 
Cronin,  and  soon  the  followers  of  both  men  were  ranged 
in  hostile  camps,  fighting  a  wordy  war  of  the  deadliest 
type.  All  attempts  to  heal  the  breach  proved  fruitless, 
although  much  outside  influence  of  an  important  character 
was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  different  parties  concerned. 


XLVII. 

While  the  contest  raged  between  the  opposing  fac- 
tions, I  was  up  and  doing,  travelling  about,  and  gaining 
as  much  information  as  I  possibly  could.  I  made  many 
trips  to  various  points  of  the  country,  and  so  was  enabled 
to  gauge  pretty  accurately  the  condition  of  public  feeling 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE,  17I 

and  the  probabilities  of  the  future.  My  pretexts  for  all 
this  travelling  were  admirably  adapted  to  divert  suspicion 
from  my  real  object!  When  a  journey  for  my  health's 
sake  was  not  possible,  I  got  appointed  (through  Irish  polit- 
ical influence)  to  a  seat  on  the  Mississippi  Valley  Sani- 
tary Commission  ;  and  when  no  more  work  was  to  be  done 
under  this  cover,  I  connected  myself  with  one  of  the 
largest  pharmaceutical  houses  in  the  States,  and  travelled 
as  their  representative  in  whatever  direction  suited  me. 
So  successful  was  I  in  combining  business  development 
with  my  secret  work,  that  I  had  great  difficulty  in  resign- 
ing this  latter  connection,  the  proprietors  strongly  urging 
my  continuance  in  it,  and  only  parting  with  me  after 
many  fruitless  attempts  to  change  my  decision.  When  at 
home  I  was  of  course  an  ardent  politician,  and  a  volunteer 
on  every  committee  in  the  Democratic  interest.  So  promi- 
nent was  I  in  local  politics,  that  on  one  occasion  I  ran  for 
election  for  the  House  of  Representatives,  only  being  de- 
feated by  a  majority  of  128  votes  on  a  poll  of  several 
thousands.  It  was  the  cry  of  ''  The  Fenian  General  "  that 
lost  me  the  seat  with  the  English  voters. 

I  was  frequently  in  communication  with  Egan  through 
all  this  period,  for  he  made  many  trips  to  Chicago,  both 
for  business  purposes  —  he  had  now  embarked  in  the 
grain  trade  —  and  with  the  object  of  consulting  with 
Alexander  Sullivan,  whose  wc\rX.hy  fichis  Achates  he  proved. 
It  was  as  the  result  of  one  of  my  interviews  with  him 
that  I  received  the  following  passport  to  the  faithful, 
which  proved  of  such  service  in  the  way  of  corroboration 
when  I  appeared  before  the  Special  Commission:  — 


1/2  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

"Patrick  Egan,  President,  Lincoln,  Neb. 

"Rev.  Charles  O'Reilly,  D.D.,  Treasurer,  Detroit,  Mich. 

"Roger  Walsh,  Secretary,  Lincoln,  Neb. 

"  Irish  National  League  of  America, 

"Offices  of  President  and  Secretary, 
"Lincoln,  Neb.,  November  24,  1885. 

"  It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  introduce  to  all  friends  of  the  Irish 
National  League  with  whom  he  may  come  in  contact  during  his  visit  to  the 
south  my  esteemed  friend,  Dr.  Lc  Caron  of  Braidwood.  Dr.  Le  Caron, 
although  French  by  name  and  descent,  has  ever  proved  himself  one  of  the 
most  devoted  friends  of  the  Irish  National  cause,  and  since  the  formation  of 
the  Land  and  National  Leagues  has  been  most  indefatigable  in  promoting  the 
good  of  those  organizations. 

"Patrick  Egan,  President.'^ 

Alexander  Sullivan  meantime  occupied  himself  very 
busily  in  purely  American  politics,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
making  his  position  in  this  regard  the  more  favorable,  he 
caused  it  to  be  understood  that  he  had  withdrawn  from 
the  Clan-na-Gael.  This,  of  course,  was  only  a  blind,  for 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  for  twelve  months  at  least  after  he  had 
so  announced  his  withdrawal,  his  name  continued  to  appear 
on  circulars  and  documents.  This,  however,  is  immaterial. 
What  is  important  to  note  is  that  Sullivan  warmly  advo- 
cated the  election  of  J.  G.  Blaine  to  the  Presidency,  and 
that  he  in  secret  circles  made  much  of  the  fact  that  Blaine's 
foreign  policy  would  do  all  that  the  Clan-na-Gael  desired. 
Mr.  Blaine  paid  a  high  tribute  in  the  public  prints  to  the 
services  rendered  Him  by  Sullivan. 

The  year  1886  saw  the  introduction  of  the  Home  Rule 
Bill  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  consequent  inactivity  on  the 
part  of  the  American  conspirators.  I  therefore  had  rather 
an  easy  time  of  it.  Enthusiasm  ran  pretty  high,  because 
it  was  thought  that  with  Home  Rule  granted  the  way  to 
complete  separation  would  be  cleared  in  a  wondrous  degree, 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


173 


and  that  at  last  we  were  in  sight  of  the  point  for  which 
all  had  struggled  and  many  had  bled,  'Uhe  making  of  Ire- 
land a  nation  once  again."  Mr.  Parnell  now  appeared  to 
have  a  distinct  claim  upon  Irish-American  indulgence,  and 
particular  pains  were  taken  to  prevent  anything  happening 
which  might  unfairly  affect  his  position  in  any  way.  So 
complaisant  were  "the  men  beyond  the  sea  "  in  America, 
that  the  open  convention  called  for  January  1886  was 
postponed  in  order  that  Mr.  Parnell  might  be  present. 
The  gathering  eventually  took  place  in  the  month  of 
August  1886,  but  there  was  no  Mr.  Parnell,  his  place 
being  taken  by  no  less  than  four  of  the  leading  Parnellites 
from  the  English  side  —  Messrs.  Michael  Davitt,  John  E. 
Redmond,  M.P.,  John  Deasy,  M.P.,  and  William  O'Brien, 
M.P.  As  usual,  the  whole  proceedings  were  governed  by 
the  Sullivanite  wing  of  the  secret  organization.  I  was 
myself  a  delegate,  attended  the  secret  caucuses  presided 
over  by  Patrick  Egan,  and  assisted  in  developing  affairs 
in  the  interests  of  the  conspirators. 

The  fact  that  Devoy,  Cronin,  and  others  were  now  in 
opposition  was  an  element  of  danger  in  connection  with 
the  satisfactory  working  of  the  intrigue  to  ''nobble"  the 
open  movement ;  but  by  a  system  of  proxy  voting  success 
was  achieved,  and  the  adherents  of  the  Croninites  routed 
from  the  field.  The  way  in  which  this  was  accomplished 
was  remarkable,  and  very  suggestive  of  the  position  which 
Egan,  the  ex-Land  League  official,  and  friend  and  adviser 
of  Mr.  Parnell,  held  in  the  Revolutionary  organization. 
By  a  circular  issued  by  the  "  Triangle  "  on  the  eve  of  the 
convention,  it  was  ordered  that  each  Senior  Guardian 
should  secure  proxies  for  all  branches  of  the  National 
League  in  his  vicinity  unable  to  send  delegates  to  the 
open  convention,  and  immediately  forward  such  proxies  to 


174  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

Patrick  Egan.  Here  was  a  clear  confession  of  the  close 
connection  between  the  two  movements  —  open  and  secret 
—  existing  in  the  person  of  the  present  United  States 
minister  to  Chili;  the  then  President  of  the  Irish  National 
Leaeue  of  America. 


XLVIII. 

I  HAVE  already  touched  at  several  points  on  the  Dyna- 
mite Campaign,  and  I  will  now  pause  inmy  narrative  for  the 
purpose  of  dealing  in  some  detail  with  the  incidents  at- 
tending the  development  of  the  plot  to  "  blow  up  England." 
Although  there  had  been  several  attempts  made  by  O'Don- 
ovan  Rossa's  adherents  to  damage  public  buildings,  nota- 
bly the  Mansion  House,  London,  the  barracks  at  Chester, 
the  police-station  and  the  Town  Hall  at  Liverpool  in  1881 
and  1882,  the  Dynamite  Campaign  as  organized  by  the 
Clan-na-Gael  did  not  really  commence  till  the  latter  end 
of  1882,  or  rather  the  beginning  of  1883.  Indeed  the  at- 
tempts on  the  part  of  Rossa's  people  were  simply  gunpow- 
der explosions,  and  had  no  connection  with  dynamite  at 
all.  They  were  of  a  very  miserable  character,  and  quite 
in  keeping  with  O'Donovan  Rossa's  reputation  in  the 
States.  With  him  experience  proved  that  it  was  always, 
as  the  homely  phrase  has  it,  a  case  of  "great  cry  and  little 
wool." 

To  Dr.  Gallaher,  our  friend  of  the  professional  appear- 
ance and  gold-headed  cane,  was  intrusted  the  task  of 
inaugurating  the  work  undertaken  by  the  Revolutionary 
Directory  of  the  Clan-na-Gael.  At  the  time  he  set  out  all 
was  enthusiasm  in  the  ranks  of  the  Clan,  and  great  things 
were  proiii"sed.     In  one  secret  circular  the  P^.C.  (or  gov- 


IN   THE   SECRET  SERVICE. 


175 


erning  body)  had  informed  the  members  ''that  it  had  no 
delicacy  or  sentimentahty  about  how  it  would  strike  the 
enemy,  or  when  or  where.  .  .  .  They  meant  war,  they 
meant  that  war  to  be  unsparing  and  unceasing.  They 
meant  it  to  be  effective.  Their  policy  would  be  to  make 
assaults  in  all  directions,  so  that  the  suffering,  bitterness, 
and  desolation  which  followed  active  measures  should  be 
felt  in  every  place." 

Under  the  p'retence  of  taking  a  voyage  to  Europe  for 
his  health's  sake,  Gallaher  set  out  in  the  steamship  Alaska 
on  the  15th  October  1882,  reaching  Liverpool  in  good 
time,  and  from  thence  travelling  to  Glasgow,  in  order,  as 
he  explained,  to  see  some  relatives.  Glasgow,  by  the  way, 
has  always  had  a  prominent  representative  of  the  British 
branch  of  the  Fenians  in  residence  there.  From  Glasgow 
he  came  on  to  the  London  Wall  Hotel,  and  here  he  re- 
mained for  a  month  spying  out  the  land  and  making  the 
preliminary  arrangements  for  the  work  which  was  to  fol- 
low. His  work  finished,  he  took  a  trip  to  Dublin,  where 
at  the  Gresham  Hotel  he  lived  as  befitted  a  man  of  his 
position.  From  thence  he  proceeded  to  Donegal  to  visit 
more  "relatives."  From  Donegal  he  eventually  made  his 
way  to  Queenstown,  where  in  the  Bosnia  he  took  passage 
for  home  on  the  loth  December,  having,  as  he  subse- 
quently reported,  made  all  necessary  arrangements  for 
commencing  his  branch  of  the  "  active  work." 

He  was  with  Sullivan  in  Chicago  in  the  following 
month,  and  here  he  and  I  met  and  had  many  chats 
together.  We  were  fellow-doctors,  and  we  "  chummed  " 
together  in  a  fashion  very  agreeable  to  me.  He  soon 
wearied  me,  however,  for  I  found  he  could  talk  of  nothing 
but  dynamite,  its  production,  its  effectiveness,  and  the 
great  weapon  it   was   soon   to  prove  against   the  British 


176  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

Government.  He  spent  the  next  couple  of  months  in 
communication  with  the  powers  that  were,  and  placed 
them  in  full  possession  of  all  he  had  done  and  all  he 
hoped  to  do.  They  took  an  equally  sanguine  view  of  the 
possibilities  of  success,  and  no  time  was  lost  in  enlisting 
the  first  dynamite  band  which  visited  Europe.  By  the 
middle  of  March  there  were  eight  men  embarked  on  the 
dangerous  enterprise,  Gallaher  being  the  leader  and  pay- 
master ;  and  at  this  date  the  first  of  them  set  out  for 
England  in  the  Cunarder  PartJna.  Every  precaution  was 
taken  to  avert  suspicion,  and  so  much  care  was  exercised 
that  some  travelled  as  steerage  passengers  while  the  rest, 
like  Gallaher,  journeyed  in  gentlemanly  fashion.  The 
band  was  made  up  of  Gallaher  and  his  brother  Bernard, 
Dowd,  Wilson,  O'Connor,  Curtin,  Whitehead,  and  Nor- 
man, all  being  Clan-na-Gael  men,  though  none  save  the 
doctor  held  any  important  position  in  the  organization. 

The  first  arrivals  of  this  precious  assembly  of  dyna- 
mitards  reached  Liverpool  on  the  27th  of  March,  and,  of 
course,  separated  at  once.  Gallaher  went  to  the  Charing 
Cross  Hotel,  which  he  made  his  headquarters.  His  men 
v/ere  quickly  put  to  work,  and  in  a  very  short  time  a  nitro- 
glycerine factory  was  established  in  Birmingham,  under 
the  superintendence  of  Whitehead.  From  here  large 
quantities  of  liquid  were  conveyed  to  some  few  points  in 
London  in  rubber  bags  and  rubber  shooting-stockings. 
All  the  elaborate  arrangements,  however,  were  destined 
to  come  to  naught,  for  before  any  "active"  work  could 
be  done,  thanks  to  the  vigilance  of  the  police  in  London 
and  Birmingham,  Gallaher  and  his  associates  were  arrested, 
and  the  whole  of  the  nitro-glycerine  seized.  The  month 
of  May  1883  saw  the  trial  and  conviction  of  the  leader 
and   three    of    his    associates.    Whitehead,    Curtin,    and 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  \^^ 

Wilson,  the  case  for  the  Crown  being  completed  by  the 
testimony  of  Norman,  alias  Lynch,  who  played  the  role 
which  never  lacks  an  exponent  in  the  case  of  an  Irish 
conspiracy  —  that  of  informer.  All  of  the  unfortunate 
prisoners  were  sentenced  to  penal-  servitude  for  life.  An 
interesting  feature  in  connection  with  Gallaher's  arrest 
was  the  discovery  on  his  person  of  no  less  a  sum  than 

What  the  actual  designs  of  this  dynamite  band  were, 
are  not,  and  probably  never  will  be  known.  Quite  suffi- 
cient for  the  public  must  be  the  fact  that  so  enormous 
was  the  quantity  of  nitro-glycerine  discovered  that,  accord- 
ing to  experts,  it  was  quite  equal  to  the  blowing  up  of 
every  house  and  street  in  London,  from  one  end  to  the 
other.  Pleasant  discovery  this  for  the  ordinary  British 
citizen  who  laughs  at  dynamite  and  pooh-poohs  the  exist- 
ence of  any  condition  of  things  calling  for  a  more  elabo- 
rate Secret  Service.  The  arrest  and  discomfiture  of  the 
Gallaher  band  had  one  very  useful  result.  It  effectively 
put  an  end  to  all  idea  of  manufacturing  dynamite  on  Eng- 
lish soil.  Unfortunately,  however,  it  did  not  put  an  end 
to  the  Dynamite  Campaign.  It  simply  affected  the 
weapon,  not  those  who  were  prepared  to  employ  it. 

The  next  group  of  dynamitards  who  visited  England 
included  Cunningham,  Bruton,  Mackay  Lomasney,  Luke 
Dillon,  and  a  man  known  as  Ryan  of  Philadelphia.  These 
men  did  not  all  come  at  the  same  time,  but  they  worked 
together  in  harmony  so  far  as  it  was  possible.  During 
their  visit  to  London  explosions  occurred  in  October  1883 
on  the  Underground  Railway;  in  February  1884,  at  Vic- 
toria Station;  in  May  1884,  at  Scotland  Yard;  in  Decem- 
ber 1884,  at  London  Bridge;  and  in  January  1885,  at  the 
House  of  Commons  and  the  Tower.     The  dynamite  em- 


178  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

ployed  in  these  cases  was  all  brought  from  America, 
secreted  about  the  persons  of  the  conspirators,  and  of 
women  who  were  sent  over  with  it,  as  well  as  by  an  em- 
ploye of  one  of  the  steamers  of  the  National  Steamship 
Line,  who  belonged  to  the  organization.  The  explosive 
was  generally  made  up  in  slabs  of  Atlas  powder,  obtained 
from,  amongst  other  sources,  the  Atlas  Company  and  the 
Repauno  Chemical  Company  of  Philadelphia. 

Of  the  second  group,  only  two  men  were  brought  to 
trial,  Cunningham  and  Bruton  ;  and  these  men,  for  the  at- 
tempts on  the  House  of  Commons  and  the  Tower,  were 
sentenced  to  penal  servitude  for  life.  The  remainder, 
with  the  exception  of  Lomasney,  escaped  to  America. 
Lomasney,  in  company  with  a  man  supposed  to  be  named 
Fleming,  met  his  fate  under  London  Bridge  in  his  attempt 
to  blow  up  that  structure.  Luckily  for  the  Londoners,  the 
bridge  escaped  without  any  injury,  but  Mackay  and  his 
companion  apparently  came  to  their  end  by  the  discharge 
of  the  explosive,  for  they  were  never  seen  more. 

There  were  two  other  men  whose  part  in  the  Dynamite 
Campaign  of  this  period  deserves  mention.  These  were 
**Jack"  Daly,  as  he  was  called,  and  his  confederate,  J.  F. 
Egan,  who  were  tried  and  sentenced  at  Warwick  in  1884, 
the  former  to  imprisonment  for  life,  and  the  latter  to  penal 
servitude  for  twenty  years.  Daly  was  perhaps  the  most 
daring  and  desperate  criminal  of  all,  and  his  intended 
crime  merits  special  reference.  This  was  the  blowing  up 
of  the  House  of  Commons  while  in  session,  by  the  throw- 
ing of  bombs  on  to  the  table  in  front  of  the  Speaker.  So 
ardent  was  Daly  in  planning  this  foul  enterprise  that  he 
twice  gained  admission  to  the  Strangers'  Gallery  of  the 
House.  When  arrested,  some  of  these  bombs  were  found 
upon  him,  and  examination  showed  that  one  of  them,  if 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  1 79 

used,  would  have  been  quite  sufficient  to  send  every  stick 
and  stone,  to  say  nothing  of  the  members  of  the  House  of 
Commons  themselves,  heavenwards  or  thereabouts.  Luck- 
ily, this  desperate  man  was  arrested  in  time,  for  assuredly 
his  character  was  quite  sufficient  to  warrant  the  belief 
that  he  would  have  carried  out  his  intention.^ 

Of  all  the  schemes  indulged  in  by  the  dynamite  men, 
none  seems  to  have  been  more  far-fetched  than  that  of  the 
theft  of  a  certain  stone  from  within  the  walls  of  Westmin- 
ster Abbey;  This  was  the  famous  "  Stone  of  Scone," 
which  serves  as  the  seat  of  the  Coronation-chair  in  the 
Abbey.  To  an  outsider  the  possession  of  such  a  stone  as 
this  seems  of  no  importance  whatever.  Yet,  ludicrous  as 
it  may  appear,  the  idea  of  securing  it  gave  rise  to  great 
enthusiasm  and  led  to  a  very  generous  subscription  with 
this  object.  According  to  the  originators  of  the  scheme, 
this  "  Stone  of  Destiny  "  was  really  the  property  of  Ire- 
land for  a  thousand  years  before  Christ,  and  upon  it  were 
crowned  the  Irish  kings,  for  hundreds  of  years,  on  the 
sacred  Hill  of  Tara.  Its  restoration  to  the  land  of  its 
original  and  only  lawful  owners,  it  was  contended,  would 
inspire  confidence  in  the  course  then  being  pursued,  and 
the  people  would  be  strengthened  by  the  well-known  tra- 
dition "  that  so  long  as  this  stone  remained  in  Ireland,  so 
long  would  she  remain  a  united  nation,"  while  its  loss  to 
the  English  would  work  wonders.  Elaborate  preparations 
were  made  for  carrying  out  the  scheme.  Men  were  sent 
from  America  to  work  in  conjunction  with  certain  Fenians 

1  As  this  same  Daly  has  more  than  once  been  the  subject  of  lengthy  debates  in  Par- 
liament, and  his  release  demanded  by  the  Irish  members  on  the  ground  of  his  being  the 
victim  of  a  wrong  conviction,  I  think  it  well  to  state  that  his  sentence  and  the  subse- 
quent refusal  of  the  Home  Secretary  to  accede  to  these  demands,  have  been  based  on 
letters  written  by  him  to  the  notorious  J.  J.  Breslin  of  the  Revolutionary  Committee 
of  the  Clan-na-Gael,  and  now  in  existence  among  the  records  of  the  Home  Office. 


l8o  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

in  London,  and  it  was  decided  that  some  of  the  conspira- 
tors should  secrete  themselves  in  the  Abbey,  and  at  night 
seize  the  police,  remove  the  stone,  and  pass  it  out  through 
a  window  to  others  who  would  be  in  waiting  outside  to 
take  it  to  a  place  of  safety.  For  months  these  men  waited 
and  waited,  but  the  opportunity  never  came,  for  one  of 
the  group  gave  the  whole  thing  away  to  the  police,  and 
the  detectives  who  surrounded  the  sacred  edifice  made  the 
seizure  impossible.  In  the  end  the  three  principals  had  to 
leave  the  country  for  fear  of  arrest,  and  the  whole  affair 
ended  in  smoke  —  as  usual  ! 

The  close  of  the  year  1885  brought  the  announcement 
of  Mr.  Gladstone's  conversion  to  Home  Rule,  and  the 
termination  of  the  Dynamite  Campaign  for  the  time  being. 
How  the  political  situation  was  viewed  at  this  period,  can 
best  be  represented  by  the  following  extracts  from  a  secret 
circular  of  the  Clan-na-Gael,  or  United  Brotherhood, 
issued  two  days  before  Christmas  :  — 

*'  The  operations  so  far  conducted,  have  compelled  the  enemy  to  recognize 
the  Constitutional  party,  and  we  are  now  in  a  fair  way  to  reap  the  benefits 
and  results  of  the  heroic  work  of  the  members  of  the  U.S.  (United  Brother- 
hood). .  .  .  We  expect  to  resume  active  operations  after  the  present  exigen- 
cies of  the  Constitutional  party  are  passed.  We  have  purposely  and  advisedly 
abstained  from  doing  anything  likely  to  embarrass  them  during  the  crisis  of 
the  elections.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  during  these  operations,  members  will 
abstain  from  making  inquiries  or  discussing  the  subject  in  any  manner,  for  we 
cannot  say  when  we  undertake  to  answer  members,  but  that  at  the  same  time 
we  are  answering  the  inquiries  of  our  enemy,  furnishing  important  informa- 
tion, and  giving  important  clews  to  detect  and  suppress  our  work.  The  mys- 
tery of  an  unknown  power  striking  in  the  dark,  always  able  to  avoid  detection, 
is  far  more  terrible  than  the  damage  inflicted.  We  caution  you,  therefore, 
above  all  things,  to  be  silent;  but  if  compelled  to  speak,  disavow  all  knowl- 
edge, or  better  still,  mislead  all  inquirers.  In  the  mean  time,  we  wish  to 
impress  on  you  the  necessity  of  mutual  forbearance  and  faith." 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE,  l8l 

So,  for  the  time,  in  deference  to  *'  the  exigencies  of  the 
Constitutional  party,"  the  Dynamite  Campaign  was  brought 
to  a  close,  leaving  as  its  record  little  or  no  damage  to  the 
enemy,  but  no  less  than  twenty-five  of  the  unfortunate 
instruments  in  prison,  sixteen  undergoing  life  sentences, 
two,  sentences  of  twenty-years'  penal  servitude,  and  seven 
sentences  of  seven  years  each.  Of  course,  some  of  these 
prisoners  are  not  men  from  the  American  side.  In  many 
cases  those  coming  from  America  picked  up  colleagues  in 
England,  and,  unfortunately  for  these  latter,  the  knowledge 
which  the  local  police  possessed  proved  disastrous  to 
them. 

XLIX. 

The  secret  convention  of  the  Revolutionary  organiza- 
tion—  or  rather,  of  the  principal  section  which  had  re- 
mained faithful  to  Sullivan  —  met  in  due  course,  in 
August  1886,  but  as  I  was  not  a  delegate,  I  had  no  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  what  took  place.  The  spirit  of  the 
time,  however,  was  very  fairly  reflected  in  some  circulars, 
issued  prior  to  its  assembly,  from  which  I  take  the  follow- 


"The  indications  all  point  to  the  conclusion  that  the  measure  of  Home 
Rule  offered  will  be  emasculated  and  pared  down  in  such  a  way  as  to  make 
it  unacceptable  to  those  for  whom  it  is  intended.  We  are  now  preparing  for 
those  contingencies,  and  the  estimates  for  the  cost  of  making  a  rigorous  cam- 
paign with  '  delusion  '  (dynamite)  will  absorb  more  funds  than  are  at  present 
available  from  the  prescribed  percentage.  The  Executive,  therefore,  in 
order  to  meet  the  great  outlay  necessary  at  this  crisis,  take  this  occasion 
to  request  that,  in  addition  to  the  usual  percentage,  each  camp  at  once, 
by  a  vote  of  the  camp,  send  on  such  additional  funds  as  they  may  deem 
proper.  ...  It  is  suggested  that  in  voting  this  fund  it  be  credited  in  forward- 
ing it  entirely  to  '  delusion  '  (dynamite).  In  the  meantime,  in  the  next  few 
months,  important  operations  are  likely  to  take  place;  you  are  cautioned  to 
use  every  device  to  mislead  those  engaged  in  tracing  our  operations." 


1 82  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

And  again  :  — 

"We have  some  members  who  are  opposed  to  the  active  operations  of  the 
last  few  years,  and  who,  therefore,  favor  a  more  enlarged  representation.  It 
would  seem  to  us  that  the  operations  objected  to  are  fully  vindicated  by  the 
concessions  wrung  thereby  from  England.  However,  we  offer  no  suggestions 
as  to  what  line  of  policy  you  may  see  fit  to  pursue.  It  will  be  the  business 
of  your  Convention  to  frame  that  policy,  and  the  business  of  the  Executive 
Body  to  execute  them  without  regard  to  individual  opinions.  .   .   . 

"  The  silent  secret  warfare  has  been  productive  of  results.  It  would  be 
well,  therefore,  to  instruct  your  delegates  as  to  your  wishes  on  those  points 
fully  and  clearly.  Having  instructed  your  delegates  which  of  these  policies 
you  wish  to  pursue,  the  details  will  not  be  difficult.  It  would  be  well,  there- 
fore, to  put  your  instructions  to  your  delegates  in  one  of  the  following  gene- 
ral terms,  with  such  alterations  as  you  deem  proper: — 

"  Viz.,  '  Our  delegate  is  instructed  to  favor  an  active  secret  policy,  similar 
to  recent  operations;'  or,  in  the  alternative  of  favoring  a  return  to  open 
insurrectionary  operations  as  follows:  — 

"Viz.,  *  Our  delegate  is  instructed  to  favor  the  planting  of  ploughs  (dis- 
tribution of  arms)  and  an  open  insurrectionary  movement.' 

"There  can  then  be  no  insinuations  of  misrepresentation,  and  whatever 
policy  is  adopted  will  have  the  overwhelming  support  of  the  organization  at  its 
back.  It  will  be  well,  also,  to  embody  such  changes  as  are  desirable  in  the  con- 
stitution in  your  instructions.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that,  in  the  short  time  inter- 
vening between  this  and  the  Convention,  you  will  fully,  wisely,  and  carefully 
consider  the  policy  of  the  future,  and  the  character,  intelligence,  and  expe- 
rience of  your  delegates.   .   .   . 

" The  active  operations  of  the  U.S.  (United  Brotherhood)  have  brought 
about  the  probable  granting  of  Home  Rule.  It  is  desirable  that  delegates  to 
the  National  Convention  shall  be  fully  informed  of  your  desire  to  follow  up 
these  operations  on  the  same  lines,  or  whether  you  desire  to  fall  back  on  the 
old  work  of  putting  ploughs  in.  The  latter  course  does  not  seem  to  us 
fruitful  of  results  or  practical.  The  former  policy  has  been  vindicated  by 
great  destruction  with  little  loss  to  us.  It  is  for  the  Convention  to  decide, 
however,  what  the  future  policy  shall  be." 

From  the  official  report  of  the  secret  convention  which 
reached  me  subsequently,  I  learnt  that  the  votes  in  favor 
of  dynamite  had  been  in  the  majority,  for  the  policy  of 
the  late  Executive  had  been  indorsed,  and  the  new  Execu- 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  1 83 

tive  given  a  free  hand  for  the  future.  What,  however, 
was  perhaps  the  most  important  proceeding  of  all  at  this 
convention  of  .the  Revolutionists,  was  the  passage  of  the 
following  resolution  :  — 

"Resolved:  —  That  we  maintain  the  same  relations  in  the  future  to  open 
societies,  working  for  the  same  purpose  as  ourselves,  that  we  have  in  the 
past." 

If  further  proof  were  wanted  beyond  that  already  given 
of  the  *'  understanding  "  which  existed  between  the  open 
and  secret  organizations,  it  could  not  be  supplied  in  a  more 
emphatic  manner  than  this. 

Although  the  Executive  was  given  full  power  to  act  as 
they  thought  best,  it  was  apparently  considered  undesir- 
able to  do  anything  during  the  latter  part  of  1886,  and  so 
nothing  of  importance  came  to  pass  up  to  the  month  of 
April  1887,  when  I  made  another  trip  to  Europe,  without, 
however,  any  letters  or  credentials  on  this  occasion.  My 
visit  was,  nevertheless,  not  of  an  uneventful  character.  I 
visited  the  House  of  Commons  more  than  once,  and  in 
the  social  intercourse  which  took  place  between  myself 
and  some  of  the  Irish  M.P.'s,  learnt  many  facts  of  an  in- 
teresting character.  It  was  during  this  visit  that  I  set 
myself  to  find  out  some  particulars  regarding  Dr.  James 
G.  Fox,  M.P.  I  was  rather  curious  about  this  gentleman, 
who  now  failed  to  recognize  me  in  the  House  of  Commons 
lobby,  although  we  had  met  on  more  than  one  occasion  at 
Land  Leasfue  conventions  in  the  States,  where  we  had  been 
brother  delegates.  His  associations,  his  position  as  State 
Executive  for  the  League  in  New  York,  and  his  well-known 
National  proclivities  as  evinced  during  his  fifteen-years' 
residence  at  Troy  and  elsewhere  in  the  States,  all  made 
me  anxious  to  know  something  of  the  man  in  his  new 
position  of  M.P.,  and  of  how  his  thoughts  now  inclined. 


184  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

I  learnt  casually  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  frequenting 
Gatti's  Restaurant  in  the  Adelaide  Gallery,  Strand,  and 
there  I  determined  to  renew  my  acquaintance  with  him. 
The  opportunity  for  doing  so  was  not  long  wanting,  for 
on  an  early  day  I  found  myself  seated  at  the  same  table 
with  him,  where  he  was  deeply  engaged  in  perusing  the 
Irish  World.  Making  this  fact  an  excuse  for  opening  a 
conversation  with  him,  I  asked,  in  an  interested  way,  if  I 
could  obtain  copies  of  the  paper  he  was  reading  at  any 
place  in  London.  I  spoke  with  a  marked  American  accent, 
and  my  appearance  did  not  belie  the  suggestion  I  wished 
to  convey  as  regards  my  nationality.  He  replied  that  he 
thought  not,  explaining  that  he  received  it  regularly  from 
the  other  side,  asking  me  in  conclusion  if  I  was  interested 
in  the  publication.  I  replied  in  the  affirmative,  and  then 
followed  his  query  as  to  whether  I  was  not  from  the 
United  States.  To  this  I  made  answer  by  producing  my 
card,  whereupon  he  looked  intently  at  me  as  he  remarked, 
"Why,  I  ought  to  know  you  ;  I  have  met  you  in  conven- 
tions. My  name  is  Fox."  The  information  was  rather 
unnecessary  as  far  as  I  was  concerned,  but,  maintaining  a 
quiet  face,  I  thought  for  a  moment,  and  in  the  end  con- 
fessed to  a  recollection  of  him.  We  were  soon  on  familiar 
terms,  and  discussed  American  matters  with  great  freedom. 

There  was  one  fact  that  I  wanted  particularly  to  discover, 
and  that  was  whether  or  not  Fox  was  a  member  of  the 
Clan-na-Gael.  I  had  had  no  opportunity  of  learning  this 
at  the  open  conventions  at  which  we  had  previously  met, 
but  yet  my  view  very  strongly  inclined  to  the  belief  that 
he  was.  In  the  course  of  our  conversation,  therefore,  I 
took  occasion  to  give  him  the  "hailing  sign,"  but  he  did 
not  return  it,  merely  remarking  significantly  that  he  was 
not  a  member  of  any  secret  society,  a  remark  which,  taken 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE,  1 85 

in  connection  with  my  sign,  tickled  me  not  a  little.  I 
never  ascertained  the  truth  of  the  matter,  but  I  remembered 
the  circumstance  when,  in  June  1888,  at  the  Clan  conven- 
tion in  Chicago,  a  burly  delegate  near  me  mounted  his 
chair,  announced  himself  from  Troy  —  where  Fox  had 
lived  —  and  in  a  loud  voice  demanded  recognition  by  the 
chair.  On  this  being  accorded  him,  he  said,  holding  up 
the  Ti7nes  pamphlet,  '^  Behind  the  Scenes  in  America," 
that  he  held  in  his  hand  a  little  book  which  had  been 
sent  to  him  by  a  Member  of  Parliament  who  was  a  member 
of  his  camp.  This  book  was  being  sold  by  the  thousand 
at  the  price  of  one  penny,  and  the  information  it  contained 
could  only  have  been  supplied  by  a  traitor  high  up  in  the 
ranks  of  the  organization.  He  moved  for  a  committee  to 
inquire  into  the  matter.  This  committee  was  appointed, 
but  their  inquiry  ended  in  smoke,  the  "  traitor,"  as  I  was 
termed,  having  another  narrow  escape. 

While  in  England  on  this  trip,  the  authorities  learned 
of  the  presence  of  General  Millen  in  Paris,  and  to  Paris  I 
was  despatched,  in  order  to  find  out  if  possible  what 
Millen  was  doing.  I  found  "le  brave  General"  of  the 
Clan-na-Gael  very  comfortably  settled  in  the  Hotel  des 
Anglais  in  the  Cour  de  la  Reine,  accompanied  by  his  wife 
and  two  interesting  daughters.  I  called  upon  him,  rep- 
resenting that  I  had  heard  of  his  being  in  Paris  through 
the  Herald  office,  and  was  anxious  as  an  old  friend  to  say 
''how  do  you  do."  I  did  not,  however,  gain  very  much 
by  my  visit,  for  the  simple  reason  that  at  this  time  Millen 
had  not,  as  far  as  I  believe,  any  close  connection  with  the 
dynamite  business  known  as  the  Jubilee  Plot,  with  which 
his  name  was  subsequently  associated.  At  this  point  his 
business  in  Europe  had  to  do  with  the  bringing  about  of 
a  reconciliation  between  the  British  and  the  American 
branches  of  the  Revolutionary  organization. 


1 86  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

The  fact  was,  that  for  two  or  three  years  previously  the 
relations  between  the  two  sections  of  the  conspirators  had 
been  of  a  very  strained  character.  Sullivan,  finding  that 
the  home  organization  was  not  in  favor  of  dynamite,  when 
the  campaign  was  started,  had  argued  that  they  should 
not  have  any  more  money  to  spend  on  organization  and 
arms,  which,  for  all  that  was  known  to  the  contrary,  were 
simply  rusting  away  in  Ireland  ;  and,  accordingly,  supplies 
were  stopped,  and  the  home  Fenians  were  not  notified  of 
the  last  couple  of  conventions,  with  the  result  that  no 
envoys  from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  attended.  This 
led  to  a  very  bitter  feeling  in  Ireland,  and  the  contention 
was  strongly  urged  that  the  conduct  of  the  American 
Executive  was  distinctly  iiltra  vires.  Now,  when  dis- 
sensions ranged  in  America,  Sullivan,  long-headed  as 
usual,  sought  to  strengthen  his  section  by  the  allegiance 
of  the  home  organization  ;  and  accordingly,  Millen  was 
despatched  to  Europe  to  bring  about  a  more  satisfactory 
condition  of  affairs.  His  mission,  in  this  regard  at  least, 
was  unsuccessful. 

As  for  Milieu's  connection  with  the  Jubilee  explosion,  I 
know  very  little.  The  whole  undertaking  was  shrouded  in 
mystery,  but  it  is  pretty  certain  that  it  was  not  a  Clan-na- 
Gael  affair  alone.  The  best  description  that  could  be 
given  of  it  would  be  that  it  was  in  its  inception  a  Rossa 
undertaking  financed  by  the  Clan-na-Gael.  For  political 
reasons  the  secret  organization  could  not  openly  ally  them- 
selves with  dynamite  for  the  moment,  because  tactical  con- 
siderations dictated  the  giving  of  a  fi^ee  and  untrammelled 
hand  to  Mr.  Parnell  to  hoodv\^ink  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his 
supporters.  As,  however,  the  circulars  I  quoted  a  few 
pages  back  showed,  dynamite  was  not  by  any  means  thrust 
aside ;  so,  in  order  to  keep  a  fair  front  to  the  open  move- 


IN   THE   SECRET  SERVICE.  1 8/ 

ment,  and  yet  a  satisfactory  stand  in  the  eyes  of  the  fiery 
rank  and  file,  Rossa  was  temporarily  taken  into  the  good 
graces  of  the  Executive,  and  some  of  his  adherents  de- 
spatched with  funds  from  the  secret  organization  to  kick 
up  a  row  in  England.  Millen,  at  the  time  I  saw  him,  was 
not  in  the  plot,  which  at  that  moment  indeed  had  not  been 
hatched  ;  but  on  his  return  to  America  he  fell  in  with  the 
scheme  and  returned  to  Europe  to  work  it  up.  His  bun- 
gling, however,  led  to  his  being  superseded  by  John  J. 
Moroney,  a  tried  and  trusted  friend  of  Alexander  Sullivan, 
who  was  despatched  to  London  with  a  large  amount  of 
money  and  distinct  orders  to  show  some  value  for  it. 
What  happened  is  a  matter  of  too  recent  history  to  need 
recapitulation  here.  The  introduction  of  Moroney  and 
his  colleagues  to  the  House  of  Commons  by  Mr.  Joseph 
Nolan,  M.P.,  and  the  facts  associated  with  the  working  of 
the  conspiracy,  are  of  too  late  a  date  to  be  forgotten  so 
soon. 

I  returned  to  the  States  in  October,  only  to  remain  a 
couple  of  months  there,  and  to  come  ^ack  again  to  Europe 
at  the  end  of  the  year.  This  time  my  visit  was  of  a  purely 
private  character,  and  the  sluggishness  of  affairs  allowed 
of  my  having  a  complete  rest  from  all  sorts  of  investiga- 
tions and  interviews.  I  came  to  Europe  in  connection 
with  a  business  speculation  which  promised  highly  satis- 
factory returns,  and  I  was  successful  in  laying  the  founda- 
tion for  a  very  encouraging  enterprise.  Unfortunately 
for  me,  however,  I  was  not  to  reap  the  fruits  of  my  work. 
As  a  consequence  of  my  appearance  in  the  witness-box,  I 
was  prevented  from  returning  to  the  States  at  the  tim.e 
when  the  profits  were  accruing,  and  so  had  to  undergo 
the  loss  of  this  as  well  as  many  other  sources  of  income. 


1 88  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


The  following  year —  1888  —  was  my  last  in  America, 
and  ere  its  close  I  left  for  the  purpose  of  attending  the 
dying  bedside  of  my  father.  I  left  for  England  in  Decem- 
ber with  the  full  purpose  of  returning  in  a  month,  but  as 
matters  turned  out  I  really  left  my  home  for  the  last  time. 
I  had  written  twice  to  Mr.  Anderson,  offering  my  services 
in  connection  with  the  Special  Commission,  but  nothing 
had  come  of  my  proposal,  and  I  had  no  idea  that  anything 
would  happen  in  connection  with  the  matter.  My  idea 
was,  as  I  have  explained,  that  the  Government  were  really 
prosecuting  the  Parnellite  party,  and  I  could  not  under- 
stand how  all  the  information  which  I  knew  them  to  be 
possessed  of  was  not  appearing.  The  charges  and  allega- 
tions had  made  a  great  stir  in  America,  and  the  disclosure 
of  the  whole  v/orking  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  in  the  ''  Behind 
the  Scenes  "  articles  had  created  such  a  sensation  as 
seemed  to  me  to  make  a  full  disclosure  imperative,  so  that 
the  American  public  might  have  accurate  and  complete 
data  for  arriving  at  a  proper  conclusion  regarding  the  foul 
conspiracy  existing  in  their  midst. 

I  must  not,  however,  travel  too  fast ;  and  so  shall  have 
to  go  back  a  little,  in  order  to  complete  the  story  of  the 
Cronin-Sullivan  dispute,  which,  in  a  way,  came  to  a  con- 
clusion in  the  year  of  which  I  write.  As  I  have  already 
stated,  the  history  of  the  Cronin  affair  while  it  lasted  was 
the  history  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  for  the  time  being,  and 
thus  in  completing  my  statement  of  it  I  shall  be  bringing 
the  record  of  revolutionary  matters  down   to  the  date  at 


IN  THE   SECRET  SERVICE. 


189 


which  they  and  I  parted.  To  return,  therefore,  to  the 
Cronin  matter,  which  I  left  at  the  point  in  1886  where  ap- 
peals from  outside  quarters  failed  to  heal  the  breach.  As 
a  last  resort,  a  conference  was  arranged  in  September  1887 
between  committees  from  each  organization,  the  Sullivan 
section  and  the  Cronin  section  ;  and  a  final  effort  was 
made  to  settle  the  differences.  Cronin  was  one  of  the 
committee  from  his  section,  but  he  did  not  help  the  set- 
tlement. The  conference  continued  up  to  April  1888, 
when  a  basis  of  union  was  arrived  at.  The  rock  upon 
which  the  disputants  invariably  split  was  the  demand  made 
by  the  Cronin  section  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
to  try  their  charges  of  misappropriation  against  the  Ex- 
ecutive, and  the  expulsion  of  the  Executive  from  the  organ- 
ization if  found  guilty.  In  the  end,  this  was  conceded  ; 
and  a  united  convention  was  called  in  June  1888,  which, 
meeting  first  in  Madison  Street  Theatre,  was  eventually 
moved  to  Green  Baum,  in  consequence  of  the  allegation 
that  British  detectives  had  gained  admission  to  the  former 
place  of  meeting. 

Here  was  pandemonium  let  loose  for  eight  days,  during 
which  the  convention  sat  morning,  noon,  and  night.  I 
was  a  member  of  this  convention,  and  I  never  heard  such 
a  row  in  my  life.  The  Sullivanites  had  it  all  their  own 
way  at  first ;  but  the  seceders,  with  Cronin  at  their  head, 
threatened  to  "  bolt  "  if  they  did  not  get  fair  play ;  and 
they  appealed  to  the  patriotism  of  their  countrymen  to 
give  them  a  chance.  They  were,  accordingly,  given  a 
representation  on  all  committees,  but  were  always  in  a 
minority.  Cronin  perhaps  took  as  prominent  a  part  in  the 
convention  as  any  man,  and  his  conduct  naturally  incurred 
the  enmity,  and  eventually  the  vengeance,  of  his  oppo- 
nents.    He  and  Devoy  submitted  formal  charges  of  fraud, 


190 


TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 


etc.,  against  Sullivan's  executive.^  Strong  language  was 
used,  but  Sullivan's  friends  defended  him  warmly.  Finally 
a  Trial  Committee  was  appointed  to  try  the  parties  charged. 
Cronin,  strange  to  say,  was  a  member  of  this  Trial  Com- 
mittee, though  he  was  one  of  the  persons  making  the 
charges.  There  was  a  terrible  scene  when  his  appoint- 
ment was  made  known,  but  the  convention  had  to  put  up 
with  him  in  the  end. 

All  the  Trial  Committe  were  sworn  by  the  oath  in  the 
ritual  to  truly  and  justly  try  the  charges  submitted  to 
them.  The  committee  consisted  of  seven  members,  and 
as  subsequent  events  showed,  four  of  them  were  Sullivan's 
friends.  They  met  in  November  1888.  Previous  to  this, 
however,  Cronin  had  been  playing  a  very  objectionable 
part.     He  spoke  against  the  accused  whenever  occasion 

1  John  Devoy,  in  the  course  of  a  speech  delivered  at  Cheltenham  Beach  prior  to 
the  death  of  Mr.  Parnell,  made  the  following  statement  as  regards  the  Cronin  affair  :  — 

"  The  men  to  whom  I  refer  and  whom  I  charge  to  be  in  alliance  with  the  men  who 
instigated  the  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin,  are  Michael  Davitt  and  John  O'Connor,  one  of 
the  members  from  Tipperary.  (Cheers  and  cries  of  hear,  hear.)  I  say  here  that  there 
is  a  combination  between  the  coterie  which  brought  about  the  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin 
and  the  Davitt  clique  in  Ireland,  to  oust  Mr.  Parnell  from  the  leadership  and  place 
Michael  Davitt  in  his  place.  In  Michael  Davitt's  sworn  testimony  before  the  Parnell 
Commission,  he  said,  '  I  sought  out  John  Devoy,  because  I  heard  he  was  going 
to  make  trouble  in  the  convention,  so  that  I  might  learn  his  plans  and  frustrate 
them.'  I  am  glad  of  that  admission  from  Michael  Davitt  himself,  and  for  the  pay- 
ment of  a  thousand  dollars  given  to  him  for  one  speech  in  Ogden's  Grove,  and  the  full 
proceeds  of  a  lecture  tour  given  throughout  the  United  States  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Triangle.  The  Cronin  murder  was  as  much  a  part  of  the  infamous  work  of  this  alli- 
ance to  down  Parnell,  and  to  down  every  man  in  this  country  who  believes  in  giving 
his  movements  a  fair,  full,  and  reasonable  trial,  as  the  puffs  of  Michael  Davitt  at  a 
thousand  a  puff." 

In  corroboration  of  Devoy's  statement,  I  find  in  the  financial  report  of  the  Clan- 
na-Gael  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  charged  ;  and  while  Mr.  Davitt  had  for  some 
years  disassociated  himself  from  the  party  of  violence,  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  averse  to  receiving  a  portion  of  their  spoils.  Mr.  Davitt  may  plead,  as  other 
well-known  Irish  patriots  have  done,  that  he  did  not  know  the  source  from  whence 
this  money  was  derived ;  but  no  man  was  in  a  better  position  to  have  found  out  than 
he,  had  he  so  desired. 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  I9I 

offered,  wrote  to  the  papers  in  accusation  of  them,  and  in 
no  way  showed  himself  the  unbiassed  person  he  had 
sworn  himself  to  be.  Sullivan  naturally  felt  very  bitter 
over  all  this,  and  he  fell  out  with  a  number  of  friends  who 
sided  with  Cronin  in  the  claim  for  full  investigation. 
When  the  trial  came  on,  it  was  found  that  all  the  vouchers, 
papers,  and  indeed  every  evidence  of  expenditure,  had 
been  destroyed,  in  accordance  with  the  resolution  which 
had  been  adopted  at  the  Boston  Convention.  This  in- 
creased the  uproar,  and  after  two  weeks  of  inquiry  the 
majority,  consisting  of  Sullivan's  friends,  expressed  them- 
selves satisfied  with  the  statements  made  by  the  accused ; 
while  the  minority  could  only  admit  the  proper  expendi- 
ture of  33,000  dollars,  which  left  a  deficiency  of  85,000 
dollars,  or  X  17,000.  The  result  of  the  trial  was  that 
Michael  Boland  was  convicted  of  misappropriation  ;  Sulli- 
van was  acquitted,  but  censured  for  the  loose  way  in  which 
the  Executive  had  done  its  business,  and  D.  C.  Feeley 
was  likewise  acquitted  but  censured.  The  details  of  this 
finding  were  given  me,  by  the  way,  by  Sullivan. 

At  the  time  I  left  for  Europe,  the  Trial  Committee  had 
adjourned,  and  Cronm  was  back  in  Chicago.  The  Execu- 
tive had  refused  to  sustain  the  action  of  the  Trial  Com- 
mittee by  a  majority  of  one,  and  there  the  affair  stood. 
But  Cronin  would  not  let  well  enough  alone.  He  had 
been  talking  very  plainly,  and  denouncing  Sullivan  right 
and  left.  I  figured  in  this  trial  by  furnishing  Sullivan 
with  affidavits  for  his  defence.  Cronin  afterwards  charo:ed 
Sullivan  with  getting  me  admitted  into  the  organization, 
and  with  putting  me  into  a  position  of  trust.  This  did 
not  help  matters,  and  altogether  Cronin  proved  himself  to 
be  a  very  dangerous  man  in  the  eyes  of  Sullivan.  Doubt- 
less  he  possessed  much  information,  the  publication  of 


192  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

which  would  damn  Sullivan  forever.  What  followed  is  a 
matter  of  recent  inquiry.  Cronin  was  foully  murdered, 
and  Sullivan,  with  others,  was  charged  with  participation 
in  the  crime.  Sullivan  was  released,  but  three  men,  well- 
known  members  of  the  Clan,  were  convicted,  and  sen- 
tenced to  penal  servitude  for  life.  The  inquiry  was  fruit- 
ful in  many  ways,  and  brought  to  light  a  vast  amount  of 
corroboration  of  the  most  important  portions  of  my  tes- 
timony. There  were,  however,  no  two  more  sensational 
incidents  than  those  produced  by  the  report  issued  by 
Cronin  after  the  Trial  Committee  had  dissolved,  and  the 
positive  proof  now  supplied  for  the  first  time  of  the  state- 
ment frequently  made,  that  Sullivan  had  in  May  1882 
received  in  his  position  as  chief  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  a 
sum  of  £20,000  from  Patrick  Egan,  then  treasurer  of  the 
Land  League  in  Paris. 

The  report  issued  by  Cronin  stated  amongst  other 
things:  — 

"  That  the  Trial  Committee  appointed  at  Chicago  was  unable  to  elicit  all 
the  facts  connected  with  the  charges  placed  before  it,  because  of  the  refusal 
of  several  of  the  witnesses  to  answer  many  of  the  questions  asked,  and  because 
of  the  inability  of  others  to  remember  events  and  figures  that  might  be  sup- 
posed to  be  indelibly  impressed  on  their  memories.  From  the  evidence 
presented,  I  am  obliged  to  report  — 

*'  That  the  family  of  one  who  lost  his  life  in  the  service  of  this  order  was 
scandalously  and  shamefully  neglected,  and  continued  to  be  neglected  for  two 
years  after  their  destitute  condition  was  known,  and  that  Alexander  Sullivan, 
Michael  Boland,  and  D.  C.  Feeley  are  responsible  and  censurable  for  that 
neglect. 

*•  That  the  defendants,  Sullivan,  Boland,  and  Feeley  issued  a  deceptive 
report  to  the  Boston  Convention,  leading  the  order  to  believe  that  its  affairs 
had  been  examined  by  independent  committees,  and  that  the  order  was 
$13,000  in  debt;  that,  in  fact,  Alexander  Sullivan  and  Michael  Boland  were 


IN   THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  1 93 

on  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  the  Treasurer  states  that  there  was 
a  balance  in  the  treasury,  and  not  a  debt. 

"  That,  prior  to  the  Boston  Convention,  one  hundred  and  eleven  thousand 
($111,000)  dollars  was  expended  without  any  direct  or  indirect  benefit  to  the 
order,  and  most  of  it  in  a  manner  that  could  not  in  any  way  have  benefited 
the  order,  and  that  the  same  three  defendants  are  censurable  and  responsible 
for  this  enormous  and  wasteful  expenditure. 

"  That  the  $80,491  reported  to  the  district  convention  as  having  been 
spent  in  active  work  was  not  spent  for  any  such  work,  no  such  work  having 
been  done  or  contemplated  during  the  eleven  months  within  which  this  large 
amount  was  drawn  from  the  treasury.  The  active  work  done  between  the 
Boston  and  district  conventions  was  paid  for  out  of  the  surplus  held  by  the 
agent  of  the  '  Triangle  '  at  the  time  of  the  Boston  Convention,  and  not  out 
of  the  $87,491  drawn  from  the  treasury  months  after  such  active  work  had 
ceased." 

I  give  these  extracts  in  order  to  show  the  reader  how 
matters  stood  between  Sullivan  and  Cronin  on  the  eve  of 
the    latter's    murder.     Into    the    details    of    the  ^20,000 
transaction  I  need  not  enter,  beyond  stating  the  fact  that 
banking  officials  were  called  to  prove  by 
their  books  that  on  May  15,  1882,  Sul- 
livan   cashed,    through    Monroe  &  Co. 
of  Paris,  two  checks   amounting  to  the 
sum  I  name.     This,   I   may  state,   was 
about   the   date   when    Sullivan,    in   re- 
sponse to  Mr.  Parnell's  request,  crossed  to  Paris  in  order 
to  settle  the  difficulty  with  the  Revolutionary  body  on  the 
British   side.      As  the  following  extracts  will  show,  the 
matter  had  been  one  around  which  a  great  deal  of  contro- 
versy had  raged  for  many  years  :  — 

"  The  O'Donovan  Rossa  resents  Mr.  Patrick  Egan's  imputation  against 
his  character  for  truth  and  veracity.  The  O'Donovan,  when  in  this  city  a 
few  days  ago,  intimated  to  a  Chicago  Tribune  reporter  that  Mr.  Patrick 
Egan,  while  Parnell,  Dillon,  Davitt,  and  other  members  of  the  Executive  of 
the  Land  League  were  in  jail  in  Ireland,  was  visited  in  Paris  by  Revolutionary 


194  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

Irish  patriots  from  this  country,  who  induced  him  to  give  100,000  dollars  of 
the  money  contributed  to  Land  League  purposes  to  them  for  revolutionary 
purposes,  ?.<?.,  making  war  on  the  British  Empire  with  dynamite  and  such 
things.  Mr.  Egan  having  seen  or  heard  of  O'Donovan's  statement,  denied 
that  there  was  a  particle  of  truth  in  it,  and  sent  the  Tribune  a  telegram  to 
that  effect  from  Denver.  Now  comes  O'Donovan  with  a  rejoinder.  We 
have  received  from  him  the  following  telegram :  — 

'''Editor  of  the  "  Tribune,'' 

"'Mr.  Patrick  Egan  denies  my  statement.  I  say  my  statements  are 
more  worthy  of  belief  than  Patrick  Eagan's.  I  stated  in  Chicago  that  money 
sent  from  America  to  support  the  no-rent  movement  in  Ireland  was  followed 
over  by  some  parties  who  got  100,000  dollars  of  it;  that  it  was  not  used  for 
any  such  work  in  Ireland,  and  that  Patrick  Egan  knows  all  about  it.  I 
repeat  my  assertion.  Will  Patrick  Egan  meet  me  in  the  presence  of  John 
Finerty  and  Denis  O'Connor  of  Chicago,  or  in  the  presence  of  Patrick  Ford 
and  Major  Horgan  of  New  York,  both  answering  all  questions  under  oath? 

"'O'Donovan  Rossa, 
'"Editor  "  United  Irishman.'' 
"'New  York,  July  15,  1883.'  " 


LT. 

Long  before  these  final  developments,  however,  I  had 
sailed  for  England,  and  severed  for  all  time  my  connec- 
tion with  Irish  politics  in  the  United  States.  I  had  come, 
as  explained,  to  my  father's  dying  bedside.  Unfortu- 
nately for  me,  I  was  not  in  time  to  find  him  conscious, 
and  did  not  reach  the  house  where  he  lay  till  the  day  on 
which  he  died.  When  the  sad  offices  connected  with  his 
death  had  been  fulfilled,  I  turned  my  thoughts  again  to 
home,  and  set  about  preparing  for  another  voyage  to  the 
States.  Everything  had  been  completed  for  my  depart- 
ure, when  I  suddenly  learned  from  Mr.  Anderson  that  the 
Tmtes  had  approached  him  with  a  view  of  obtaining  a 
witness  regarding  the  American  side  of  the  conspiracy. 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


195 


Before  this  point  was  reached,  I  had  chatted  over  my  pro- 
posal of  going  into  the  witness-box  with  Mr.  Anderson, 
but  he  had  very  frankly  told  me  that  he  had  no  intention 
of  giving  up  such  a  useful  informant  of  his  own  initiative  ; 
and  as  he  had  no  connection  with  the  Times  case,  he  did 
not  think  it  likely  that  any  approach  would  be  made  to 
him  on  the  subject. 

Matters,  however,  turned  out  differently  to  what  he 
expected,  and  on  the  eve  of  my  departure  for  America  I 
learned  that  my  services  might,  after  all,  be  utilized,  and 
my  desire  to  drive  the  truth  home  given  full  play.  To  be 
effective  however,  my  coming  appearance  should  be  kept 
a  profound  secret,  and  so  I  appealed  to  Mr.  Anderson  to 
make  such  arrangements  as  would  allow  of  this  being 
the  case.  As  a  result,  I  was  informed  a  little  later  that  the 
Times  people  had  arranged  that  Mr.  Houston  should  be  the 
person  with  whom  I  should  deal,  and  that  to  him  alone 
should  I  be  known  pending  my  appearance  in  the  witness- 
box.  This  was  the  first  mention  I  had  ever  heard  of  Mr. 
Houston,  and  it  was  with  no  little  curiosity  I  made  my 
way  to  No.  3  Cork  Street  in  search  of  the  gentleman  to 
whom  I  bore  a  single  line  of  introduction.  I  remember  well 
how,  when  I  was  first  ushered  into  his  now  familiar  room  by 
his  faithful  "Rogers,"  I  gazed  suspiciously  at  the  tall 
youthful  figure  which  met  my  view.  As  Mr.  Houston 
took  my  letter  of  introduction  from  me  and  carelessly 
opened  it,  answering  my  suspicious  glance  with  a  slight 
smile  hovering  about  his  face,  I  could  not  help  the  remark, 
"  Sir,  you  are  a  much  younger  man  than  I  was  led  to 
believe  I  should  meet."  The  smile  broadened  into  a 
laugh  as  the  reply  came  back,  ''  I  am  sorry,  but  I  cannot 
help  being  young,  you  know.  However,  I  am  Mr. 
Houston."     And  so  we  two  people  met  for  the  first  time. 


196  TIVENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

I  informed  Mr.  Houston  that  it  was  always  an  under- 
stood thing  on  my  part  that  my  letters  to  Mr.  Anderson 
were  private  property,  and  that  whenever  I  liked  to  ask 
for  them  they  would  be  at  my  disposal.  Accordingly  I 
had,  on  learning  that  my  evidence  would  be  accepted,  re- 
quested that  Mr.  Anderson  should  allow  me  to  go  over  all 
my  documents  and  select  such  as  appeared  necessary  for 
the  corroboration  of  my  statements,  as  well  as  for  the 
assisting  of  my  memory.  To  this  he  had  assented,  exclud- 
ing any  of  the  papers  which  he  had  made  official  by  pass- 
ing them  on  at  the  time  of  their  receipt.  It  was  then 
arranged  between  Mr.  Houston  and  myself  that  I  should 
get  the  documents  from  Mr.  Anderson,  and  go  to  work  at 
once  in  the  preparation  of  my  evidence.  Much  to  my 
disappointment,  I  learnt  there  was  not  time  for  me  to 
make  a  last  hurried  trip  home,  and  that  if  I  was  to  carry 
out  my  intention  of  testifying  I  should  have  to  be  content 
with  the  many  losses  which  would  result  from  my  stopping 
in  England.  One  thing,  however,  I  stipulated  for,  and 
that  was  the  bringing  over  of  all  my  family  to  England 
before  I  appeared  in  the.  box.  I  was  willing  to  let  all  my 
private  affairs  go  to  ruin  by  my  non-return  ;  but  I  was 
not  prepared  to  leave  my  wife  and  family  to  bear  the 
brunt  of  the  popular  ill-will  which  would  result  from  what 
was  to  follow. 

One  of  the  first  things  I  did,  therefore,  was  to  cable  for 
my  wife  and  children  ;  and  having  eased  my  mind  on  this 
score,  I  went  to  work  with  a  will  in  the  preparation  of  my 
evidence.  For  ten  long  working  days,  Mr.  Houston  and 
I  waded  through  the  hundreds  of  letters  and  Clan-na-Gael 
documents  I  had  now  at  my  disposal,  he  taking  notes  as 
he  went  along,  and  I  dictating  many  items  brought  to  my 
recollection  by  the  letters  I  was  perusing.     We  worked  in 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


19; 


this  way  from  ten  to  six  o'clock  each  day,  undisturbed  by 
visitors  of  any  kind ;  and  when  I  left  him,  Mr.  Houston, 
with  the  assistance  of  his  clerks,  worked  far  into  the  night, 
copying  the  circulars,  and  transcribing  the  notes  which 
remained  at  the  end  of  our  day's  work. 

On  Tuesday  morning,  the  5th  of  February  1889,  the 
curtain  was  rung  up,  and  throwing  aside  the  mask  for 
ever,  I  stepped  into  the  witness-box  and  came  out  in  my 
true  colors,  as  an  Englishman,  proud  of  his  country,  and 
in  no  sense  ashamed  of  his  record  in  her  service.  On 
what  followed  I  need  not  dwell.  While  I  was  under 
examination,  my  old  employer,  Mr.  William  Baber  of 
Colchester,  was  brought  into  court  by  the  well-known 
detective  Meiklejohn,  in  order  that  he  might  identify  me. 
Nothing,  of  course,  came  of  the  incident ;  but  as  I  once 
more  saw  Mr.  Baber,  I  thought  to  myself  how  little  he 
knew  of  the  part  I  had  played  at  his  father's  death-bed. 
It  was  in  1884  that  I  was  hurriedly  called  one  day  to  see 
a  patient  who  was  said  to  be  dying.  I  found  him  an  old 
man  of  eighty,  surrounded  by  his  family  and  friends.  In 
a  few  minutes  he  was  dead  ;  and  finding  that  all  round 
about  me  were  strangers  to  the  grim  monster,  I  performed 
the  last  offices  for  the  body.  As  I  was  so  employed,  the 
poor  people  related  to  me  their  history,  and  then  I  learned 
to  my  surprise  that  the  man  whose  eyes  I  was  now  clos- 
ing in  death  was  none  other  than  the  father  of  my  former 
employer  at  Colchester,  who  had  emigrated  to  America 
some  few  years  previously. 

Great  as  was  the  sensation  produced  by  my  strange 
and  weird  but  true  story,  it  was  as  nothing  compared  to 
that  brought  about  by  the  perfect  corroboration  afforded 
by  the  assassination  of  poor  Cronin,  of  whom  I  have  said 
so  much.     Little  did  I  think,  when  day  after  day  I  stood 


1 98  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

in  the  witness-box  to  tell  my  tale,  and  morning  after 
morning  read  the  scoffing  references  of  those  who  be- 
lieved it  not,  that  in  a  little  while  the  blood  of  a  mur- 
dered Gael  would  cry  out  in  judgment  against  those  of 
whom  I  spoke,  and  that  in  the  outcome  truth  would  pre- 
vail, and  the  black  foul  conspiracy  be  dragged  into  the 
open  light.  Yet  so  it  was  ;  and  to-day  there  are  none  who 
question  the  existence  of  the  murderous  alliance  to  which 
I  testified,  and  of  men  within  its  ranks  prepared  to  obey 
its  leaders,  even  unto  the  shedding  of  blood. 


LII. 

I  HAVE  told  my  story,  and  little  more  remains  to  be 
done.  Yet  I  cannot  lay  down  my  pen  without  rendering 
some  little  tribute  to  one  whose  care  and  caution  on  my 
behalf  I  can  never  repay.  I  refer  to  Mr.  Anderson.  For 
twenty-one  years  I  served  under  this  gentleman  in  the 
Secret  Service,  and  no  greater  honor  can  I  pay  him  than 
to  say  that  during  all  this  time  I  was  never  discovered. 
Only  those  who  have  played  my  part  can  fully  appreciate 
what  this  means.  Not  always  careful,  not  always  guarded 
enough  in  the  rattle  and  bustle  of  my  life,  there  were 
times  when,  had  it  not  been  for  my  chief's  watchfulness, 
discovery  might  have  overtaken  me.  But  he  never  wav- 
ered or  grew  lax  in  his  care.  He  proved  indeed  to  me, 
not  the  ordinary  official  superior,  but  a  kind  trusty  friend 
and  adviser,  ever  watchful  in  my  interests,  ever  sympa- 
thizing with  my  dangers  and  difficulties.  To  him,  and  to 
him  alone,  was  I  known  as  a  Secret  Service  agent  during 
the  whole  of  the  twenty-one  years  of  which  I  speak. 
Therein  lay  the  secret    of    my   safety.      If    others    less 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  199 

worthy  of  the  trust  than  he  had  been  charged  with  the 
knowledge  of  my  identity,  then  I  fear  I  should  not  be  here 
to-day  on  English  soil  quietly  penning  these  lines. 

If  my  identity  remained  undiscovered,  it  was  not  for 
want  of  attempts  on  the  part  of  colleagues  of  Mr.  Ander- 
son to  find  it  out.  It  was  but  natural,  of  course,  that 
those  associated  with  my  chief  should  seek  to  penetrate 
his  reserve  regarding  such  a  voluminous  correspondent  as 
myself,  and  to  gain,  at  first  hand,  possession  of  the  many 
important  pieces  of  information  which  he  alone  appeared 
to  be  able  to  supply.  All  attem.pts,  however,  in  this 
direction,  and  they  were  many,  proved  fruitless.  So  de- 
termined was  a  certain  public  official  at  one  time  to  dis- 
cover my  identity,  that  having  in  some  way  got  hold  of 
my  Christian  name,  Thomas  —  I  always  wrote  in  the  name 
of  Beach  to  Mr.  Anderson  —  and  assuming  it  to  be  my  sur- 
name, he  despatched  a  detective  to  Chicago  to  discover  the 
man  called  Thomas  in  the  organization  there.  Of  course 
there  was  no  chance  of  getting  at  me  in  this  way,  but,  never- 
theless, I  was  warned  in  time,  and  left  no  possible  loophole 
for  discovery.  Imagine,  dear  reader,  the  weakness  of  such 
a  policy  as  this,  .vhich  would  commit  the  safety  of  an  im- 
portant informant  to  the  irresponsible  knowledge  of  an 
ordinary  detective  ! 

When  this  attempt  failed,  communications  were  sought 
to  be  opened  up  with  me  by  the  same  official  through  Sir 
John  Rose  and  Judge  M'Micken,  with  whom  I  had  acted 
at  the  time  of  the  Fenian  raid  of  1870.  So  strong,  indeed, 
was  the  pressure  brought  upon  Judge  M'Micken,  that  the 
old  gentleman  travelled  specially  to  Chicago  to  see  me  on 
the  point.  However,  I  would  have  none  of  it.  I  was  quite 
contented,  and  too  well  assured  of  my  safety  as  I  was  ;  and 
so,  much  to  my  own  satisfaction,  I  was  left  undisturbed  in 
Mr.  Anderson's  charge. 


200  TIVEN TV-FIVE    YEARS 

There  was  only  one  thing  about  which  he  had  frequently 
to  remonstrate  with  me,  and  that  was  my  expenditure. 
Many  a  lecture  did  I  receive  from  him  on  the  subject  of 
money  spending.  It  was  not,  of  course,  his  fault,  but 
rather  that  of  the  system.  Indeed,  so  kind  and  friendly 
was  he  that  he  at  times  advanced  me  money  for  which  he 
himself  had  to  wait  for  repayment  for  sometime,  if  indeed 
he  ever  got  all  of  it  back,  which  I  very  much  doubt.  Of 
course  I  could  not  help  spending  the  money.  I  tried  to 
be  as  sparing  as  possible,  and,  whenever  I  could,  debited 
my  expenses  to  those  other  undertakings  which  I  allied 
with  my  Secret  Service  work.  But  it  was  not  always  pos- 
sible to  pursue  such  an  economic  course,  and  in  very  many 
instances  where  Mr.  Anderson  could  not  pay,  I  had  to  pay 
myself.  I  occupied  a  certain  position  ;  I  had  to  live  up  to 
that  position.  The  expenditure  of  money  amongst  the 
Irish  patriotic  class  was  an  absolute  necessity  for  my  pur- 
pose, and  consequently  I  could  never  put  any  money  by, 
but  rather  lived  up  to,  if  not,  indeed,  at  times  beyond  every 
penny  of  my  income. 

On  this  question  of  Secret  Service  money  I  could  say 
much.  The  miserable  pittance  doled  out  for  the  purpose 
of  fighting  such  an  enemy  as  the  Clan-na-Gael  becomes 
perfectly  ludicrous  in  the  light  of  such  facts  as  I  have 
quoted  in  connection  with  the  monetary  side  of  the  Dyna- 
mite Campaign.  Gallaher,  as  I  have  said,  had  no  less  than 
^1400  on  his  person  when  arrested  in  1883  ;  while,  coming 
down  to  a  later  date,  Moroney,  when  despatched  from  New 
York  in  1887,  in  connection  with  the  second  stage  of  the 
Jubilee  explosion  plot,  carried  with  him  some ;^  1200.  How 
on  earth  can  the  English  police  and  their  assistants  in  the 
Secret  Service  hope  to  grapple  with  such  heavily  financed 
plots  as  this,  on  the  miserable  sums  granted  by  Parliament 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE.  201 

for  the  purpose  ?  There  are,  I  believe,  some  thirty  men 
charged  with  the  special  duty  of  circumventing  political 
crime  in  London.  All  praise  and  honor  to  them  for  the 
work  they  have  done,  and  the  sincerest  of  congratulations 
to  Chief-Inspector  Littlechild,  who  so  ably  conducted  the 
arrests  of  all  the  principals  of  the  latter-day  dynamite  plots. 
But  these  policemen  have  succeeded  more  by  chance  than 
anything  else ;  events  have  played  into  their  hands,  and, 
clever  men  that  they  are,  they  have  been  sufficiently  capa- 
ble to  take  advantage  of  the  little  that  came  to  their  knowl- 
edge, and  from  small  clews  to  work  out  great  things. 

Some  day,  however,  a  big  thing  w^ill  happen,  about 
which  there  will  be  no  leakage  beforehand,  and  then  the 
affrighted  and  indignant  British  citizen  will  turn  on  his 
faithful  band  of  thirty  and  rant  and  rave  at  them  for  their 
want  of  capacity  and  performance.  The  fault  will  be  the 
want  of  a  perfect  system  of  Secret  Service,  properly 
financed.  If  plots  are  to  be  discovered  in  time — and 
already  there  are  some  whisperings  of  coming  danger  — 
they  can  only  be  discovered  through  information  coming 
from  those  associated  with  them.  As  I  have  shown,  the 
men  engaged  in  them  are  very  highly  paid.  If  it  is  to  be 
made  worth  their  while  to  speak,  then  the  price  offered 
by  the  British  Government  must  be  higher  than  that  of 
the  other  paymasters.  There  is  no  use  in  thinking  that 
mere  tools  like  Callan  and  Harkins  —  the  men  now  in 
prison  in  connection  with  the  Jubilee  Explosion  Plot  — • 
would  be  of  any  service.  These  men  know  nothing.  It 
is  the  Millens  and  the  Moroneys  of  the  conspiracy  who 
should  be  in  Government  pay,  and  they  have  no  mean 
price.  Imagine  offering  either  of  these  men  a  retainer 
of  ;;^20  a  month  with  a  very  odd  check  for  expenses 
thrown  in  !     The  idea  is  ridiculous.     I  have  heard  it  urged 


202  ,    TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

that  the  thought  of  Secret  Service  is  repugnant  to  the 
British  heart,  wherein  are  instilled  the  purest  principles 
of  freedom.  The  argument  has  sounded  strange  in  my 
ears  when  I  remembered  that  London,  as  somebody  has 
said,  is  the  cesspool  of  Europe,  the  shelter  of  the  worst 
ruffians  of  every  country  and  clime.  America  is  called 
the  Land  of  the  Free,  but  she  could  give  England  points 
in  the  working  of  the  Secret  Service,  for  there  there  is  no 
stinting  of  men  or  money. 


LIIL 


This,  then,  is  my  story ;  and  in  it  must  be  found  the 
justification,  if  such  be  needed,  for  the  part  I  have  played. 
I  have  no  apology  to  make  for  my  twenty  and  odd  years' 
work  in  the  Secret  Service.  I  took  up  that  work  from  a 
conscientious  motive,  and  in  a  conscientious  spirit  I  pur- 
sued it  to  the  end.  I  have  in  no  sense  been  an  informer, 
as  the  phrase  is  understood.  I  allied  myself  with  Fenian- 
ism  in  order  to  defeat  it ;  I  never  turned  from  feelings  of 
greed  or  gain  on  the  men  with  whom  I  at  first  worked  in 
sympathy.  I  never  had  any  sympathy  with  Irish  Revo- 
lutionists. Quite  the  opposite.  Nor  have  I  been  an 
agent  provocateur.  Although  I  always  voted  for  politic 
reasons  on  the  side  of  the  majority,  even  to  the  joining 
in  the  vote  which  meant  dynamite,  on  no  single  occasion 
was  I  instrumental  in  bringing  an  individual  to  the  com- 
mission of  crime.  True,  I  had  to  take  many  oaths.  But 
what  of  that  t  By  the  taking  of  them  I  have  saved  many 
lives.  Which  counts  the  weightiest  in  the  balance  of 
life.?  And  who  is  it  that  sneers  at  me  for  my  conduct  in 
this  regard  }     An  honest  man's  criticism  I   can  accept ; 


/x  rifF.  sr.cRr/r  sr.RyrcE.  203 

but  for  the  juc]<^mcnt  of  these  double-oathed  gentlemen 
who,  having  first  taken  the  Fenian  oath,  then  rushed  to 
Westminster  to  swear  allegiance  to  the  Crown  and  Con- 
stitution they  had  aforetime  sworn  to  destroy,  I  have 
nothing  but  contempt  and  derision.  Away  with  such 
rubbish  and  cant  as  they  indulge  in  to  the  regions  where 
common-sense  finds  no  place. 

I  said  I  have  saved  lives  by  my  action  as  a  Government 
agent.  I  hope  I  shall  have  done  more  by  my  appearance 
in  the  witness-box.  To  me  no  more  satisfactory  result 
could  attend  my  disclosures  than  the  realization  by 
the  poor  deluded  Irish  in  the  States  of  the  way  in  which 
they  have  been  tricked  and  humbugged  in  the  past  years. 
For  these  poor  weak  people,  animated  by  the  purest,  if 
the  most  mistaken  of  patriotic  motives,  who  give  their 
little  all  in  the  hope  and  trust  that  the  day  will  come  in 
their  lives  when  Ireland  will  be  a  land  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey,  I  have  the  deepest  and  most  sincere  sym- 
pathy. To  know  these  people,  to  come  into  contact  with 
them,  and  to  discuss  with  them  the  eternal  subject  of 
Irish  nationality,  is  to  respect  their  honesty  of  purpose, 
no  matter  how  n.ucli  we  feel  called  upon  to  condemn 
their  methods  of  procedure.  But,  for  the  blatant  loud- 
voiced  agitator,  always  bellowing  forth  his  patriotic  princi- 
ples, while  secretly  filling  his  pockets  with  the  bribe  or 
the  consequences  of  his  theft,  there  can  be  no  other 
feeling  but  that  of  undisguised  loathing. 

I  speak  of  what  I  know  from  personal  experience,  when 
I  say  there  is  no  greater  fraud  in  this  nineteenth  cen- 
tury of  ours  than  the  modern  Irish  patriotic  agitator  in 
America.  Gold  is  his  god,  his  patriotic  principles  —  save 
the  mark! — his  breviary  and  his  beads,  holding  aloft 
which  he  stands  at  the  corner  of  the  market-place  so  that 


204  TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS 

he  may  be  seen  of  all  men,  and  paid  tribute  to  by  some. 
By  jobbery,  trickery,  treachery,  and  delusion  of  the  mean- 
est and  most  despicable  type  he  works  his  way  along, 
rising  higher  and  higher  in  the  ranks  of  his  fellow- 
conspirators,  till  at  last,  in  the  position  of  responsibility 
and  power,  he  sells  the  votes  he  can  command,  and 
pockets  the  funds  over  which  he  has  control.  Brave  and 
blustering  in  speech,  he  advocates,  in  the  safety  of  his 
American  city,  three  thousand  miles  from  the  seat  of 
danger,  the  most  desperate  of  enterprises  ;  and  without 
the  slightest  pang  of  compunction  or  twinge  of  conscience 
he  rushes  his  poor  dupes  across  the  water  to  their  fate  on 
the  scaffold  or  the  living  death  of  penal  servitude  ;  while 
his  lips  unctuously  mumble  of  the  righteousness  of  their 
beloved  cause,  and  his  whiskey-laden  breath  blasphemously 
calls  for  the  blessings  of  Heaven  upon  the  foul  enterprise. 
It  has  been  in  fighting  such  scoundrels  as  these  that  I 
have  spent  the  last  quarter  of  a  century.  From  them 
I  would  fain  deliver  their  poor  dupes  ere  I  completely 
efface  myself  from  Irish  affairs.  I  have  no  stronger,  no 
sincerer  wish  than  to  see  an  end  put  once  for  all  to  the 
delusion  which  is  practised  upon  thousands  of  poor  Irish- 
men throughout  the  States  by  the  men  of  whom  I  have 
written.  With  the  rank  and  file  it  has  assuredly  been  a 
case  of  "  theirs  not  to  reason  why,  theirs  but  to  do  and 
die."  I  hope  it  may  not  be  so  in  the  future.  I  trust  that 
what  I  have  penned,  and  what  the  sad  murder  of  Cronin 
has  writ  large  upon  the  page  of  history,  may  not  be  with- 
out its  effect ;  and  that  to-day  men  may  pause  ere  they 
continue  in  such  a  way  as  I  have  pictured,  the  mere  tools 
of  an  unscrupulous  faction,  the  miserable  dupes  of  a  reck- 
less and  improvident  executive.  Gallahers,  Dalys,  and 
Mackay  Lomasneys  there  always  will  be  —  men  inspired 


IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 


205 


with  fanatical  hatred  of  all  things  English,  and  ready  at 
all  times  to  risk  freedom  and  life  in  working  out  their 
designs  ;  but,  apart  from  them,  there  are  thousands  whose 
criminality  reaches  no  further  point  than  the  paying  of 
those  subscriptions  so  frequently  and  so  persistently  de- 
manded. 

With  such  men  I  hope  these  words  of  mine  will  have 
weight  ;  and  if,  awakening  to  a  true  sense  of  their  situa- 
tion, and  realizing  that  their  combination  and  support  help 
not  Ireland  but  Ireland's  professional  mendicants,  they 
turn  to  a  better  path,  and  a  clearer  and  more  honest  view 
of  Irish  matters  as  they  really  are,  then  shall  I  feel  that  I 
have  not  struggled  or  written  in  vain. 


Date  Due 

•> 

y     ^ 

'.tN-7'5 

'   .      i  ■ 

■-•  >  's 

DEC  - 

r.  RTO 

Alio       0 

n    -     ^ 

PR  2  8  2D 

05 

AUG    3 

u 

m 

0EC   18 

2000 

m 

r>  ft  <IAA') 

'.i 

NOV 

2  8  ZuQZ 

f 

llillii    ^ 

3  9031   01645055  3 


U 


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